Dayton City (part 36 of 50)

Ever since his marriage Silas Macy has lived at Fidelity, Ohio, in Butler township. He and his wife are the parents of the following children: Dorsey, Owen, Florence B.,

He is a member of Austin Macy post, No. 671, G. A. R., of Union, Ohio, and has filled all the offices up to that of commander. He is recognized as one of the influential and valuable citizens of the county.

Austin Macy, brother of Silas, was born in Union county, in March, 1841. Educated in the common schools, he was reared to the practical life of a farmer. As a private soldier he entered the three-years' service during the late Civil war, becoming a member of company D, Forty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Tully. After participating in many battles he was killed in April, 1863, at Heckman's Bridge, while taking part in a skirmish, and his memory is cherished by all that knew him and that love their country.

OHN CARROLL, of Chambersburg, Ohio, one of the old soldiers of the late Civil war, is descended from an old colonial family of Maryland, a branch of the famous family of that name. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, belonged to a branch of the same family.

John Carroll was born in Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 31, 1831. Having received a good common-school education, he was bound out in November, 1844, to Rev. John Berkner, a United Brethren minister, who soon afterward removed to Illinois. Young Carroll lived with him until he was eighteen years old. He enlisted at Kansas, 111., in August, 1861, in company H, Fifty-ninth Illinois volunteer infantry, for three years or during the war, and was honorably discharged at Whiteside Station, Tenn., December 31, 1863, by reason of re-enlisting as a veteran in the same organization, also to serve for three years or during the war. He was honorably discharged the second time at New reason of the close of the war. He served in all four years and five months, and was in the battles of Pea Ridge, siege of Corinth, Bay Springs, Miss.; Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Wild Cat Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Ga.; Rocky Faced Ridge or Buzzard Roost Mountain, Resaca, Dallas, and Kenesaw Mountain. His regiment was the first of Sherman's army to enter Marietta, Ga. , he himself being the first Union soldier to set foot in that place. He was in the battle in front of Atlanta, also at Lovejoy station, and returned with Gen. Thomas to Tennessee, fighting at Columbia, Duck River, Franklin and the second battle of Nashville, thus making a fine record. Mr. Carroll was in all the campaigns, marches, battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, and was wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain, being shot in the hand, and in consequence lay in the hospital nine days. Always an active soldier, he performed his whole duty to his country promptly and cheerfully.

15, 1866. Then returning to Montgomery county, Ohio, he settled down at Chambersburg, and married on January 25, 1866, Miss Margaret A. Kennedy, who was born August

16, 1826, on the farm on which she and her husband now live. She is a daughter of William and Martha (Sloan) Kennedy. William Kennedy was born March 25, 1783, and was a son of Gilbert and Isabel (Snody) Kennedy, the Kennedy family being of Scotch-Irish stock, and an old Pennsylvania family of the days before the Revolutionary war. Gilbert Kennedy was a farmer of Cumberland county, Pa., and by his wife had the following children: Joseph, William, Margaret and Mary.

to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1804, settling in the Stillwater valley, where he died an aged man. William Kennedy came with the family in 1804, when he was twenty-one years old, settled in Butler township, and married Martha Sloan, who was born in Pennsylvania and who was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ramage) Sloan.

John Sloan, father of Mrs. Kennedy, was a farmer in Pennsylvania, and upon coming to Ohio settled first in Steubenville. Afterward he removed to Montgomery county, where he entered 160 acres of land, in Butler township, and became a well-to-do and influential citizen. His children were Martin, Jane, Mary, Eyebright, Margaret, John and William. Mr. Sloan lived to be an old man, dying sometime in the 'sixties. His wife was struck by lightning and died therefrom in 1832.

Mr. Kennedy, after his marriage, settled on the farm on which John Carroll now lives. He entered this land in 1805, and his deed is signed by President James Madison. In 1812 he became surveyor of Montgomery county, and in 1818 he was elected justice of the peace, serving eight years. In the winter of 1812 and 1813 he surveyed a road from Eaton, Ohio, to Vincennes, Ind., notwithstanding trouble was anticipated with the Indians, who were numerous and hostile. While engaged in this survey his party saw no white men between Eaton, Preble county, and a point within five miles of Vincennes, when they reached a French settlement.

Mr. Kennedy was a prominent man in Montgomery county. His children were : Joseph, who died when fifteen years of age; Jane, who died in 1847; James, who died in 1863; and Margaret A. In politics Mr. Kennedy was a Jacksonian democrat. He lived to be seventy-five years old, dying in October, 1858, on his farm, leaving an honored name.

the old homestead, on which he still lives. He is vet a great sufferer from the wounds he received in the army. At the battle of New Hope Church he was shot in the left side, the ball being stopped by a silver half dollar he had in his pocket. On July 4, 1864, on Chattahoochie river, a ball struck the U. S. plate on his shoulder strap and slightly wounded him.

Mr. and Mrs. Carroll are members of the Christian church at Chambersburg. Politically Mr. Carroll is a republican. Mrs. Carroll is secretary of the woman's relief corps of Milton Weaver post.

aHARLES CROOK, a member of one of the most distinguished families of the Buckeye state, and a prominent citizen of Wayne township, Montgomery county, was born October 17, 1830, on the parental homestead, and is of Scotch- German origin.

Thomas Crook, his father, was born in Baltimore county, Md., in November, 1788, and was the third of the name in the family by direct descent in America, his ancestors having come from Scotland to the colonies at a date too remote for remembrance. He was a tanner by trade, and served in the war of 1812. He married, February 4, 1812, Elizabeth Mathews, a native of Maryland and a daughter of John and Catharine Mathews, who were the parents of three children - Elizabeth, John and Elias - all of whom became residents of Montgomery county, Ohio. After residing two years in Maryland, where their first child, Elizabeth, was born February 18, 1813,

Thomas Crook, in 1814, brought his wife and child to Ohio and settled on the east bank of the Miami river in what is now Wayne township, Montgomery county, the tract being entirely in the woods. Here, in due course of time, he built a two-story log house, which is still standing, cleared a fine farm, and here all his children, except the eldest, were born and reared - the sons, as they grew in strength, assisting in the development of the original homestead. These children were born in the following order : Maria, Catherine, Oliver,

John, Thomas, Jr., Walter, James, George and Charles. The father of this family was a good manager, practical, industrious and wellinformed. He accumulated 340 acres of excellent land, the most of which he improved, although he suffered from the inconvenience of having broken his right thigh-bone by an accident; he was a justice of the peace for many years, and was otherwise prominent in the affairs of his township. In politics he was first a whig and afterward a republican, and retained his mental faculties until the end, having read the daily paper the day prior to his death, which took place January 11, 1875, at the age of eighty-six years, six months and twelve days. Thomas Crook's name will go down to posterity as the father of several children who have shed a luster upon Wayne township through the prominence they received in civil and military life, and of his sons special but brief mention may be made as follows :

Dr. Oliver Crook reached eminence as one of the most skillful and successful physicians of Dayton. He married, in 1848, Sarah Traple, of Brooklyn, N. , Y. , to which union were born Lida, Maria, Eveline, Oliver and George. The doctor died May 28, 1873, aged fifty-four years, six months and fourteen days.

Dr. Thomas Crook, a well-known practitioner in Montgomery county, Ohio, and in Indiana, married Lucy A. Worst, became the father of three children - Oliver, Maria Annie and Goldie, and died December 20, 1881, aged fifty-nine years, three months and one day.

Gen. George Crook, who so distinguished himself during the Civil war and also made his name great as an Indian fighter, was appointed to West Point by Hon. Robert C. Schenck, and graduated July 1, 1852. He married Miss Mary Daily, of Virginia, and died in Chicago, 111., March 22, 1890. His military record, a matter of history, is familiar to the people of the county of Montgomery as well as to the entire country, and need not be repeated here.

Capt. Walter Crook, yet living, raised a company of volunteers at the commencement of the Civil war, served in the Seventy-fourth Ohio infantry, and was a gallant soldier. He married Miss Martha J. Bates. He has served as treasurer of his township and one term as state senator.

Of the other children born to Thomas Crook, John, a tailor by trade, died unmarried; Catherine was married to Thomas Ater, and died May 6, 1891 ; Maria was married to Samuel Sullivan, November 4, 1832, bore eight children - Thomas, Martha, Elizabeth, James, John, Theodore, Oliver and George - and died May 11, 1884; Elizabeth was married January 10, 1839, to Dr. Adam Koogler, bore three children - William, Mary A. and Ellen J. - and died February 9, 1844.

Charles Crook, with whose name this memoir is opened, was educated in the common schools of Wayne township, one of his preceptors having been 'Squire Henry Cuppy, whose biography will be found on another page of this volume. December 21, 1 854, Mr. Crook married, in Butler township, Miss Eliza A. Booher, who was born Decembersi8, 1836, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Combes) Booher, whose family history may also be found on another page. It may be added, however, that Samuel Booher was a native of Pennsylvania and was but six years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents. He grew to manhood in Butler township, Montgomery county, married, for his first wife, Mary Beardshear, who bore him five children, and after her death, married Elizabeth Combes, to which latter union were born Eliza A., Martha J., David, Jacob, Samuel, Henry, Ellen and John. To the marriage of Charles and Eliza A. Crook have been born three children, viz: Laura E.,

ACOB SMITH, one of the early settlers of Butlertownship, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a son of one of the first of the pioneers of Dayton. He is of an ancient North Carolina family which was of German origin, his grandfather having been born in Germany, and having come to this country and settled in North Carolina, where he lived for many years.

Henry Smith, father of Jacob, was born in Stokes county, N. C., in 1795. When he was eighteen years of age he packed up his small possessions in a hand sachel and came to Ohio, settling in Dayton. At this time, in 1813, Col. Reed was the landlord of Newcom tavern, and for him Henry went to work as a hostler, also performing any kind of work about the village that he could find to do. He remained in Dayton six years and then went to Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, where he worked on a farm for one year. At Springboro he married Elizabeth Deardorff, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Deardorff, who were of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock. Jacob Deardorff was a pioneer farmer of Warren county, and served for many years as justice of the peace, coming from Pennsylvania at an early day. His children were : Jacob, John, Abner, Gregory, Eliza- beth and Margaret. Mr. Deardorff was an old Regular Baptist in religion, and was deacon in his church for many years. He died when about seventy-three years of age and his wife when she was ninety-one years old.

Henry Smith and wife settled the next spring after their marriage on a lot at the corner of Wayne and Third streets, Dayton, Ohio, which was then all covered over with timber. Here he built a log cabin, and for one year worked at such labor as presented itself. He then took out his papers for sixteen acres of land four miles out on the New Troy pike, where he erected a log cabin in the woods. The next spring he and his wife removed to their new home, and he engaged himself industriously in clearing up the land, and by thrift and good management, working his little farm and burning charcoal, which he hauled to Dayton, he prospered. Adding to his land from time to time, he finally owned 800 acres, and became one of the most substantial farmers of the county.

Mr. Smith and his wife were the parents of the following children: Hannah, Jacob, John, Benjamin, Mary J., Margaret, William H., Ellen, Franklin and James W. The parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Smith was an oldline whig in his early days, later in life becoming a republican. During the late Civil war he was a strong Union man, and had four sons in the army, viz: William, Franklin, James and

Jacob, all in Ohio regiments. William served one year and was discharged because he was wounded by a shell at Chickamauga. Franklin was second lieutenant in the First Ohio volunteer infantry, served three years and was in many battles, among them Pittsburg Landing. James was in the one hundred days' service.

poor common schools of his boyhood days. He began early to work on the farm, clearing the land, holding the plow, and leading the life of toil of the pioneer. On March 23, 1847, he married, in Wayne township, Rosanna Lowrey, who was born February 24, 1828, and was a daughter of James and Nancy (Stoker) Lowrey. James Lowrey was a pioneer settler of Wayne township, was born in Kentucky about 1788, and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, with his parents. He died in 1835, when but forty-seven years old. His children were as follows: Elizabeth, William,

Catherine, Sarah, Grace, James, David and Rosanna. The Lowrey family was a highly respected one, and most of its members belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church.

Three days after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith settled on the farm on which they they now live. It then consisted of fifty acres of land, which he bought of his father. This he cleared and at length purchased the remainder of the tract, and then had 160 acres, which he much improved in every way, but especially by the erection of good buildings. His children were as follows : Henry, George,

Catherine, Belle, Arthur, Lorena, Lewis K. and Elmer. Mrs. Smith was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died January 23, 1 893.

Politically Mr. Smith is a republican. Enlisting at Chambersburg, Ohio, May 10, 1864, he afterward became second lieutenant of company E, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry. His company was consolidated with another company, and he, losing his commission, resigned. As a republican and a capable citizen, Mr. Smith served his party as township trustee for eleven years, and as justice of the peace eighteen months. He also served as a member of the school board twenty-two years. Four of his sons are living in Dayton, Ohio.

aHARLES R. ALLEN, deceased, formerly a prominent business man of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in what is now known as Cassville, Ocean (then a part of Monmouth) county, N. J. , August 25, 1828. The Allen family is of Scotch origin, and of prolonged American genealogy, John Allen, the grandfather of Charles R., having been a son of William and Susan Allen, of New Jersey. John Allen married a Miss Haley, and from this old family the greater part of the Allens of New Jersey descends. John Allen and wife lived at Prospertown, Ocean county, N. J., where all their children were born. After the children grew to maturity and were married, the parents moved to Goshen (now Cassville), Ocean county, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Their remains were buried side by side in the Methodist cemetery of that place.

Charles R. Allen was a son of Isaiah and Rebecca (Rouse) Allen, who came to Ohio in 1833, and located in Warren county, in what was known as the Jersey settlement, but in 1840 removed to Miami township, Montgomery county, where for several years the father was engaged in farming and milling, but later in life removed to Miami county, where he died, near Piqua, a highly respected citizen. The children born to Isaiah and Rebecca Allen were named in order of dirth, as follows: Mary (Mrs. Dr. Isaac Treon), Charles R., Firman, John, Abram (who died in the defense of his country in the Civil war), Joseph, and Josephine (Mrs. William Bland).

Charles R. Allen was married June 10, 1852, to Elizabeth Hoover, daughter of David H. and Catherine (Houtz) Hoover, to which union were born three children, Elwood, David H., and Kate (Mrs. Arthur Weaver). Mr. Allen enlisted, in 1861, in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, of which he was, by the voice of the regiment, chosen major; but, the reginent being merged with another, it became necessary to ' 'draw cuts" to ascertain whether the rank should fall to him or to the major of the other regiment, and in this contest for position Maj. Allen was defeated. Like a true soldier, however, Mr. Allen fell into the ranks and went to the front, and took a gallant part until the close of the war, acting a portion of the time in the capacity of sutler - a position which none but a soldier can fully understand - until honorably discharged. Returning to his home, at the close of the war, Maj. Allen engaged in the grocery and general commission business at the old canal basin, in which business he held an interest until 1866, when he became a member of the firm of Hoover & Co., with which he was connected until his death, which occurred June 12, 1876. He was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and as a Freemason had attained the degree of Knight Templar; in politics he was a republican, and as such served as city councilman, as township trustee, and as a member of the board of education. He died an honored citizen and left, as a precious heritage to his famity, an honorable name.

David H. Allen, second child of Maj. Charles R. Allen and wife, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 6, 1859, and, after passing through the minor public schools of Miamisburg, graduated from the high school in 1879; he then took a special course at the Stevens institute of technology, in Hoboken, N. J., acquiring both a theoretical and practical knowledge of the mechanical arts, and after his graduation returned to Miamisburg, and has ever since been identified with the manufacturing interests of this thriving young city. Since 1891 he has been connected with the Acme Folding Boat company, which is engaged in the production of a boat invented by himself, with the co-operation of W. H. Gamble. This boat has already won for itself and inventors a world-wide reputation and is in constant demand on account of its portableness for overland transportation and for economical storage. Mr. Allen was one of the incorporators of the first twine factory in Miamisburg, has been stockholder in all the twine factories subsequently established, and is now a member of the Miamisburg Twine & Cordage company; he is also a stockholder and director in the Kauffman Buggy company, a stockholder in the Bookwalter Wheel works, and a director in the Citizens' National bank. He is thoroughly a business man and an inventor far above mediocrity, being now the owner of some valuable patents, the result of his creative genius.

The marriage of David H. Allen was solemnized October 11, 1893, with Alberta Gray, daughter of Henry C. and Elizabeth (Dick) Gray, of Hamilton, Ohio, the union being blessed with two children, Donald Gray, who died August 26, 1896, and Charles Henry. Mr. Allen and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and live in strict conformance with its discipline; in his fraternal relations he is a Knight Templar, and has attained the thirty-second degree in Freemasonry (the thirty-third being the highest that this ancient order confers), and he is also adjutant of the Fourth regiment, Ohio brigade, uniform rank, Knights of Pythias. In his politics Mr. Allen treads in the footsteps of his respected father, being a republican to the core.

Ev. Christopher Albrecht

EV. CHRISTOPHER ALBRECHT (deceased) was born in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, March io, 1824, a son of Andrew and Catherine Albrecht. In 1833 he came to America with his parents, landing in Baltimore, Md., whence the family came to Ohio and settled in Tiffin. There young Christopher passed his early years, and while still a youth, after having been instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, was received by confirmation into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran church. He was educated, primarily, in Tiffin, when, being impressed with the idea that it was his duty to become a minister of the gospel, he entered upon a course of literary and theological instruction at the Capital university, of Columbus, Ohio. He was a diligent and ardent student, and graduated with high honors. He was ordained in 1843, and entered at once upon the active discharge of his duties as a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and most ably filled five different pastoral charges in the state of Ohio, namely : The

Amanda charge in Fairfield county, which comprised four congregations, for five years ; the Thornville charge, Perry county, in 1848 and 1849 ; the Circleville charge, in Pickaway county, for six months ; the Miamisburg charge, which at first included a few outside congregations, from April 1, i860, until April 1, 1883, a period of twenty-three years, and, lastly, the Salem Lutheran church at Ellerton, Montgomery county, from August, 1883, until the close of his life, his death, which occurred in his sixty-third year, being sudden and caused by paralysis.

Rev. Mr. Albrecht was twice married, his first wife having been a Miss Conrad, who bore him one son, Luther M., now deceased. His second marriage was with Miss Julia A. Wagenhals, daughter of Rev. John Wagenhals, of Lancaster, Ohio, and to this union were born the following children : John W., William trating mind, and improved these gifts by diligent and persevering study. He was, therefore, a divine of scholarly attainments, well informed in matters theological, an eloquent declaimer, and of fine executive ability. He was an efficient worker in his sacred office, held a prominent place in ecclesiastical organizations, and in the business transactions of his church often served on important committees. He was well fitted in all respects for thorough work in the pulpit and out of it, and as a pastor his ministry was one of unqualified success and usefulness.

HILIP M. ACKERET, general electrician and superintendent of the Miamisburg electric light plant, was born at Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio, August 19, 1865, a son of Rev. John and Mary B. (Wise) Ackeret, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was a minister of the German Reformed church, and died at Millersburg, Ohio, in 1869, his son, Philip M., being then but four years of age.

Philip M. Ackeret was reared in Millersburg and received his earlier education in that city, chiefly in the public schools. March 6, 1889, he graduated from the International business college of Altoona, Pa., and for four months following was employed as bookkeeper by a business firm of the same city; later he served in the same capacity for a wholesale and retail house in Pittsburg, Pa. In 1890 he returned to Ohio, and for two years was employed as inspector for the Lima Electric Light & Power company; from Lima he went to Delphos, where he resuscitated the electric light plant; he was next employed by the electric light company of Winchester, Ind., as superintendent and general manager of its electrical and mechanical apparatus, and filled this responsible position for two years; in

August, 1893, he located in Miamisburg, where he has since been the trusted superintendent and efficient electrician of the electric light company.

August 28, 1890, Mr. Ackeret was united in marriage with Phebe Maurer, daughter of John Maurer, of Lima, Ohio, the union being blessed with one son, Mifflin J. In his religious affiliations Mr. Ackeret is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his fraternal relations is a Freemason and a Knight of Pythias. He is conceded to be one of the best practical electricians in the state of Ohio, and his devotion to his calling has secured for him a high standing with many observant members of other corporations beside those by which he has been employed.

^^y*LLWOOD ALLEN, one of the enter- I 1 prising and energetic young business men of Miamisburg, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, December 31, 1854. He is a son of Charles R. and Elizabeth (Hoover) Allen, of whom a full genealogical and biographical memoir is printed in close connection with this sketch, and further mention will be found in the history of the life of David H. Allen, a younger brother of Ellwood, attached to the biography of the late Charles R.

Ellwood Allen received a good English education in the schools of Miamisburg, and, at eighteen years of age, entered the foundry and machine shops of Hoover & Company, where he was fully instructed, within a year, in the practical use of iron-working tools and taught the trade of a machinist. He next engaged in the grocery business for a year, and then, in 1879, re-entered the employ of the Hoover company and acted as shipping clerk until 1883, when, as a capitalist, he entered upon a broader field of business enterprise, in- vesting a part of his means in numerous institutions of industry that have resulted in the development of the city of Miamisburg and the increase of its population. He is a stockholder in all the companies of which mention is made in the sketch of the life of his younger brother, including an interest in the Citizens' National bank, and additional interest or stock in the First National bank - both of Miamisburg.

Mr. Allen is also the owner of a fine stock farm, four miles from Miamisburg, on which he finds time to devote attention to the breeding of Poland-China hogs and Shropshire sheep, as well as other choice strains of live stock. Beside his stockholding and directorship in the various industrial corporations alluded to in the sketch of his brother, Ellwood Allen is also vice-president of the Kauffman Buggy company, treasurer of the Miamisburg Building & Loan association, senior member of the firm of Allen & Ressler, and a member of the Tivoli Land & Fruit company of Georgia.

In his secret society relations Mr. Allen is a thirty-second degree Freemason, beyond which degree very few Masons care to advance. As a member of the city council of Miamisburg he did faithful duty for six years, having been elected to the office by the republican party, of which he is a stanch member. His marriage was consummated November 1 6, 1889, with May Belle, daugher of George A. and Sally (Mullendore) Mutz, of Edinburg, Ind.

aHARLES BAUM (deceased), late proprietor of the Baum house, Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Rhinefaltz, Germany, February 2, 1852, a son of Philip and Caroline (Retterbach) Baum, and was the third child of a family of five sons and two daughters. In 1869 he came to America and for about one year resided in New York city; in the fall of 1870 he came to Ohio and located in Miamisburg; from 1874 to 1878 he conducted the Miami house for Mrs. Dr. John Treon; in the interval, in 1875, he purchased the lot on which the Baum house now stands, began the erection of his hotel in 1877, opened it to the public in February, 1878, and at once met with a pronounced success, securing for the place a reputation which has never since diminished. In the winter of 1884-85, he erected the Star City opera house, with a seating capacity for 800 persons, one of the first built in the state for a town of the size of Miamisburg. He was, in fact, one of the most enterprising business men that ever lived in Miamisburg, and his death was a great loss to the community, viewed even from the material standpoint alone.

February 11, 1873, Mr. Baum was united in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Dorothea (Schmerz) Schneider, of Hesse Cassel, Germany, and the marriage was blessed with eleven children, seven of whom still survive, viz: William, Julia, George, Kate, Jennie, Lewis and Charles. The death of the honored father of this family took place January 22, 1895, and since that lamentable event the Baum house has been conducted by his widow, who has fully maintained its high reputation.

Probably no name was more widely known or was oftener on the lips of the people than that of Charley Baum, either as proprietor of the Baum house or of the opera house, and his acquaintance extended throughout Ohio and adjoining states, and yet he was personally known to but comparatively few of the residents of Miamisburg, as he never left his hotel, except to make a brief trip to his bank once a month, and this covered the extent of his appearance on the streets. This close attention to his business was undoubtedly one of the hastening causes of his early death. He was a man of genial and ob'iging disposition and was possessed of indefatigable energy and industry, which never tired in making his guests happy and comfortable, and from these he made hosts of friends. He was always best pleased when adding means for the accommodation of his guests, or when adding to or building on his large landed property. His great energy and devotion to business were so notable that the remark was frequently made by those capable of judging, that the possession of these qualities, coupled with his native abilities, would have made him one of the greatest of merchants, had he embarked in mercantile trade in his earlier youth.

- was born in Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 19, 1832, and is a son of Jacob and Mary M. (Weaver) Beachler, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, Henry Beachler, was originally from Lancaster county, Pa., but became a pioneer of Montgomery county, Ohio, settling in German township, where he cleared and improved a farm and where he lived the rest of his life. His children were as follows: Henry; Christiana, wife of Conrad Iser; Adam, Jacob, Peter, George, John, and Mrs. Peter Weaver.

Jacob Beachler, father of George Washington, came with his parents to Montgomery county, they settling in German township. In early manhood he removed to Jackson township, where he engaged in farming until his death. His wife, Mary M. Weaver, was a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Gebhart) Weaver, who settled in Miami township in 1 805. She bore him seven children, as follows: William; Jonathan; Magdalena, wife of George Stine; Mary, wife of Daniel Peffley; George W. ; Jacob, and Sarah, wife of John A. Recher.

George W. Beachler was reared on the homestead in Jackson township, was educated in the common schools, and afterward in the National Normal university, at Lebanon, Ohio, in which he prepared for teaching. Beginning life for himself as a teacher, he followed that vocation for eight years. In the spring of 1864 he located in Miamisburg and established himself in the grocery business, at which he continued seventeen years, and at the end of this time engaged in the sewing machine, gun and fishing-tackle business, in which he has ever since been successfully employed. In 1892 he added a bicycle department to his store, and in this branch has built up an extensive trade.

Mr. Beachler has been twice married; first, in 1856, to Catherine Heitman, of Miamisburg, who bore him four children, as follows: Mary, Charles W., George Monroe and Laura. His second marriage was with Elizabeth N. Ney, who was born in Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio in early womanhood. Mrs. Beachler is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beachler also is an attendant and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years has conducted the Sundayschool Bible class. In politics he has always been a strong and consistent republican, and is know as a man of integrity, uprightness and honor.

ULIUS F. ALLEN, an accomplished machinist and a member of the Franklin Electric & Manufacturing company, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, December 20, 1856, a son of Firman and Louisa (Plate) Allen. His paternal grandfather, Isaiah Allen, was a native of New Jersey, and a pioneer farmer and miller of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and his maternal grandfather, John F. Plate, a native

Firman Allen, father of Julius F. ,was reared in Miamisburg, and, while a miller by trade, passed the greater part of his life in farming. To his marriage with Miss Plate were born three children, viz: Cora P. (Mrs. Thomas J. Kauffman), Julius F. and Walter S.

Julius F. Allen was educated in the public schools of Miamisburg and was well grounded in the elements of a sound English education. Beginning in 1872, he served an apprenticeship of three years at the machinist's trade with Hoover & Gamble, and then worked as a journeyman up to April, 1896, when, being an expert mechanician, he became a member of the Franklin Electric & Manufacturing company and has since been the efficient superintendent of the mechanical operations of this extensive industry.

The marriage of Mr. Allen occurred June 4, 1885, with Miss Joanna Emley, a daughter of James and Susannah (Mullendore) Emley, respected residents of Miami township. Mr. and Mrs. x\llen are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their social relations are most excellent. In politics Mr. Allen is a republican, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Honor. As a machinist he has few equals, and it may safely be asserted that he has no superior in his native town.

ENRY BEACHLER, a progressive farmer of Randolph township, and a son of one of the early pioneers, sprang from sterling German ancestry. His grandfather, John Beachler, who came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, had one son, John, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1796, near Reading. He was educated in the common schools, and married, in Lancaster county, Pa., Barbara Stein, a native of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Beachler were the parents of eight children, as follows : William ; Mary ; George ; John ; Katie, who died at the age of seventeen ; one other that died quite young ; Henry and Daniel. The first four were born in Lancaster county, Pa., the others in Montgomery county, Ohio. Mr. Beachler came to Ohio in 1834 or 1835, and here worked at his trade of blacksmith for a short time, when he purchased 144 acres of land, in Madison township, which his son, Henry Beachler, now owns. The most of this land he cleared from the woods, making of it a well-cultivated and profitable farm. A hardworking and industrious man, John Beachler was a representative of the reliable farming class upon whom so much of our prosperity depends. He was a member of the Lutheran church. By thrift and honest industry he accumulated money and property and was always ready to aid his neighbors and friends. He lived to be eighty-five years old, and died in Phillipsburg, at the home of his son, William, while there on a visit.

Henry Beachler, son of John, was born January 25, 1840, on his father's farm in Madison township. He was brought up on the farm, received his education in the district schools, and on March 25, 1864, when he was twenty-four years of age, he married Matilda Bowser, who was born in February, 1846. She is a daughter of Henry and Catherine ( Long) Bowser, the former of whom was born in Montgomery county, and was a son of one of the earliest settlers of that county. Henry Bowser's children were as follows : Mary,

Elizabeth, John, Kate, Matilda and William. Mr. Bowser was a member of the German Baptist church, a man of integrity of character, well known for many miles around, and died on his farm when sixty-four years of age.

settled on the Beachler homestead, of which they still own forty-two acres, and in addition to this Mr. Beachler has purchased 125 acres and now owns 167 acres of good farming land, which he has greatly improved. He has always been a careful and industrious farmer, and an upright man. To him and his wife there have been born the following children : Catherine ; Barbara A., who died at the age of eleven years ; Sarah B. ; Cora ; Ida, who died at the age of nineteen years ; Lizzie ; Bertha ; Jesse and Agnes. Mr. Beachler possesses strict integrity of character, is honest and reliable in his dealings with men, and is a member of the German Baptist church. Realizing the value of truth and probity in each man's everyday life, he is bringing up his children to appreciate the value of these qualities.

ENRY BECKER, a well-known and substantial farmer of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is descended from an old Pennsylvania- German family, united with Swiss stock.

John Becker, his great-grandfather, was born on the Atlantic ocean, the father of John being, in fact, the founder of the family in America. John Becker, the grandfather of Henry, was born in Bedford county, Pa., was reared a miller, lived awhile in Lancaster county, and married a Miss Snowbarger ; of the children born to this marriage the following named grew to maturity : John, Jacob, Samuel, Andrew, Henry, David, Elizabeth, Nancy and Maria. In 1815 their father brought his family to Ohio, and in June arrived in Randolph township, Montgomery county, settling on the farm now partly owned by Henry Becker. With Mr. Becker came William Hart and family, the latter comprising Mrs. Hart, their son Henry, and daughters Rebecca, Catherine, and Eve, all born in

Lancaster county, Pa. Mr. Becker bought section No. 4, on which was a small clearing and a log cabin, and Mr. Hart bought section No. 5. Mr. Becker bought his section from several parties, and for a portion of it paid as high as $10 per acre, and on this land he died at the age of sixty-six years.

John Becker, father of Henry, was born in Bedford county, moved with his father to Lancaster county, Pa. , and came with him to Montgomery county, Ohio, where, in 1815, he married Rebecca Hart, daughter of William Hart, alluded to above, and settled on the land bought by his father, clearing 103 acres, and also bought land in Darke and Shelby counties. He died at about the age of sixtysix years, a member of the Lutheran church, of which his wife was likewise a member. In politics he was a democrat, had served as township trustee, and was a well-known and esteemed citizen. His children were named Henry, David, Abraham, Annie and Rebecca.

Henry Becker, son of John and Rebecca (Hart) Becker, was born on his father's farm in Randolph township May 13, 1816, and acquired a very fair education in a subscription school, taught in a frontier log cabin in the neighborhood. He was reared to the hard work of the farm, and also assisted his father in a saw-mill which had been erected on this land in the year of his birth. Henry began work in this mill at the age of thirteen years, and has always made its operation his chief business, the mill being now on his home farm. Here, in his early days, were sawed huge black walnut logs four feet through, and also the great poplars and oaks of the virgin forest.

Henry Becker was united in marriage, January 16, 1840, in Darke county, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Shiltz, who was born in Adams county, Pa., January 20, 1819, a daughter of John and Catherine (Myer) Shiltz. John Shiltz was a farmer, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and

John, Cyrus and Sarah. He settled in Darke county in 1830, cleared a farm of 120 acres, and died at the age of seventy-eight years, his widow living to be eighty-four years old. After his marriage Mr. Becker settled on his present homestead and continued milling, the old mill and twenty-four acres of land having been devised to him by his father. In 1865 he built a new mill, and has done a very large business in shipping black walnut lumber to distant points. He has prospered, and now owns 190 acres in his homestead, 170 acres in Miami county, 120 in Darke county, and a forty-eight acre tract on the pike in Randolph township, Montgomery county, or a total of about 528 acres. Mr. Becker's life has been one of continued activity, and at the age of eighty he is still hale and strong, enjoying the fruits of his industry. The children born to himself and wife were named Sarah A., who died when twenty-two years old; Catherine, Thomas J., John S., Isaac N. and Clement. In politics Mr. Becker is a democrat, and has served as township trustee for several years. He is one of the oldest living of the native-born citizens of Randolph township, is consequently widely known, and is honored for his pioneer work as as well as for his deeds as a good citizen.

ESSE A. BINKLEY, retired farmer of Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is remotely of Swiss ancestry, his earliest traceable forefathers having been disciples of the Mennonite faith in their native country, and, having been forced, in consequence of the persecution which was inflicted upon their religious sect, to seek refuge in Germany, where but a little better fate awaited them, and later their descendants turned their eyes toward America.

In the first decade of the eighteenth century one Martin Kindig, a Mennonite, came from the Rhine valley, Germany, secured a home in Pennsylvania, five miles south of Lancaster, and then returned to Germany, where he created an intense excitement by his glowing description of the new country, and an exodus was the result. Among the many who were induced by Martin Kindig to emigrate to the land of free worship were John Binkley and Jacob Beam (the latter name being then spelled Boehme); also a Mr. Herr, a Mr. Miley, Benjamin Whitner, Jacob Haines, Jonas Yoner, the Rohrers, the Forrers and the Kneislys - all of whom settled in the same part of Lancaster county, Pa., and all connected by ties of consanguinity or marriage with the present Binkley family of America.

From John Binkley, mentioned above, descended five children - John, Felix, Christian, Henry and Ann. Of these, John, the eldest, was killed by a fall from a horse shortly before the day fixed for his marriage; Felix, the second son, and great-grandfather of Jesse A., built a flouring mill three miles east of Lancaster in 1767, which was in operation up to a late date. He married a Miss Miley, and to him and wife, were born three children - John, Johnson and Ann. The father died many years before the decease of his wife, and the son John inherited the mill, with fifty acres of land, and Johnson inherited the farm, embracing nearly 200 acres.

Johnson Binkley, son of Felix and grandfather of Jesse A., was born May 23, 1 766, and married Elizabeth Haines, daughter of Samuel Haines, who married Mary, the only child of Jonas Yoner. It is said that Johnson Binkley was named after a Hollander, Richard Janson, who was also called Yanson and afterward Johnson, and who married Ann, the only daughter of John Binkley, the immigrant, but to whom no children were born. Johnson

Samuel Binkley, son of Johnson and father of Jesse A., married Catherine Beam, to which union were born the following children : Elizabeth, Johnson, Jacob, Samuel, Jesse A., Harriet, Mary A., Henry and Catherine. The father, Samuel Binkley, was a well-to-do agriculturist in Pennsylvania, and in 1837 brought his family to Ohio in a four-horse wagon. In 1838 he bought a farm of 100 acres, one mile south of Dayton, at $50 per acre - mostly cleared and improved with a good brick house and other buildings. Here Mr. Binkley passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-three years; his widow survived to reach the great age of ninety-seven years, the Beam family being particularly noted for longevity. The old homestead near Dayton is still in the hands of their children, who have all been reared in a most exemplary manner. Mr. Binkley was a most upright man and ever set an example of great excellence for his children, over whom he held a loving control.

Jesse A. Binkley, son of Samuel and Catherine (Beam) Binkley, was born near Lancaster, Pa., December 7, 1814, and was about twenty-two years of age when he came to Montgomery county, Ohio, with his parents. He was the driver of the four-horse team on that occasion, and still remembers driving over the national road to Springfield and thence to Dayton, when the latter city was but a small place, with a floating bridge across the canal. He lived on the farm at Dayton until nearly thirty-two years of age, when he married, November 19, 1846, Miss Caroline Whistler, who was born in Montgomery county, November 27, 1 823, a daughter of Daniel and Polly (Nible) Whistler, both members of pioneer families. Daniel was a well-to-do farmer, but died a comparatively young man, the father of the

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Binkley were born the following children: Henry, William, Adeline, Newton (of whom a full biography is elsewhere given), Jesse, Caroline, Alice, Jacob, Phares, Samuel, Clara (who died when two months old), and Ora.

On their marriage, Mr. Binkley, with his wife, settled on a party cleared farm of 160 acres, four miles north of Brookville, where he passed all the really active years of his life, and then retired to a small place of twenty-five acres at Sonora, Preble county, on which he lived about eight years. In 1890, he bought a residence in Brookville, where he has since lived in quiet retirement. After nearly fifty years of happy married life, he lost his beloved wife, who died November 29, 1893, a devout member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Binkley has been a very industrious and thrifty man throughout life and still owns his farm and residence property in Brookville, beside his private residence. In politics he has always been a republican and has filled the office of township trustee. He has done much in aid of the United Brethren church, of which he has been a life-long member, and his life has been one of high character and useful results from the beginning to the present time.

AMUEL H. BINKLEY, of Randolph township, is a son of Johnson and Elizabeth (Binkley) Binkley. Johnson Binkley was born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 20, 1808, and was a son of Samuel and Catherine (Beam) Binkley, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biography of Jesse A. Binkley, elsewhere in this volume.

by whom he had one daughter, Catherine E. Mrs. Binkley died March ir, 1834, in her twenty-sixth year. Mr. Binkley married again, his second wife being Elizabeth Binkley, who was born September 21, 1804, and by whom he had the following children: Mary, born

Johnson Binkley was a miller by trade, and after his marriage ran a mill in Pennsylvania on the Big Conestota, near Safe Harbor. He there bought two good farms, and became a man of property. In 1848 he removed with his family to Montgomery count}', settling on the farm now occupied by Samuel H. Binkley and containing 104 acres. This land he greatly improved, converting it into a good farm, upon which he lived for about forty-six years, until his death in 1892, in his eightyfifth year. In religion he was a member of the church of the Brethren in Christ - later in life, however, becoming identified with the church of the United Brethren. He was a much respected man, and well known for his sterling honesty of his character.

Samuel H. Binkley was born September 20, 1837, near Safe Harbor, Lancaster county, Pa. He received the usual commonschool education, and when ten years of age was brought to Ohio by his father. The journey was made by wagon, that being long before railroads were introduced. The time required to make this journey was nearly three weeks. Upon arriving at mature years Mr. Binkley married Elizabeth Huddle, who was born March 19, 1847, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Daniel and Barbara (Berry) Huddle. To Mr. and Mrs. Binkley there have been born three children, as follows: Daniel; Johnson, who died at the age of twelve years, and Rossetta H. Mr. Binkley is a member of the United Brethren church, and has served as trustee for many years. In politics he is a republican. Mr. Binkley has always followed farming, and he purchased the farm of his father, before mentioned, but has traded it for the Arnold farm of eighty acres in Clay township.

Daniel Huddle, father of Mrs. Binkley, was born in Rockingham county, Va., and came to Ohio when he was a small boy, with his parents, they settling in Fairfield county. The children of Daniel and Barbara Huddle were as follows: Noah, John, Solomon, Samuel, Daniel, Mary A., who died when two months old; Abraham, Elizabeth, Eli, Catherine, Sarah and Lydia. Mr. Huddle owned a farm of 180 acres in Fairfield county, which was the old home of the father of Mrs. Huddle, Abraham Berry, who cleared up the farm from the woods. Mr. Huddle died in Fairfield county, October 14, 1877, at the age of sixtyeight years and four months. He was a member of the church of the Brethren in Christ, and an honorable and useful citizen.

AMUEL HAINES BINKLEY, M. D., one of the most eminent archaeologists and. experienced physicians of Ohio, and now residing in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Conestoga, Lancaster county, Pa., October 22, 1812, is a son of Samuel and Catherine (Beam) Binkley, and is of the fifth generation descended from John Binkley, a native of Switzerland, who came to America in 1712, and settled on Mill creek, near Lancaster, Pa.

The paternal grandfather of the doctor was Johnson Binkley, who was a son of Felix, who, in turn, was a son of John, the founder of the family in America ; the maternal grandfather of Dr. Binkley was Jacob Beam, a son of Martin Beam, one of the first bishops of the United Brethren church in America, and Martin was a son of Jacob Beam, also a native of Switzerland, who came to this country and settled in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1712, and became the progenitor of the American branch of the family which bears his name.

Samuel and Catherine Binkley, in 1837, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and settled on the farm now occupied by Dr. Binkley, and there passed the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of nine children, who were born in the following order : Elizabeth

Samuel H. Binkley, whose name opens this memoir, grew to manhood in his native state, received a fine classical education, and studied medicine under Dr. John M. Keagy. Having become proficient in this science, he began practice in Middletown, Ohio, in 1835, but a year later returned to Lancaster county, Pa., practiced there a year, and in 1837 came once more to Ohio, and has since then made his home on the farm originally settled upon by his parents, in Miami township, Montgomery county. Aside from his practice as a physician, Dr. Binkley has devoted many years to the study of geology and archaeology, his knowledge of which has given his name not only national, but international prominence. He collected probably one of the finest cabinets of paleontological specimens ever seen in the state of Ohio, and this cabinet he presented to his nephew, J. Franklin McGrew, the renowned paleontologist, of Kankakee, 111. The doctor also prepared a valuable catalogue of his collection of 1,066 specimens, filled with minute descriptive data, which, also, he presented to his nephew, and no doubt it will, in due course of time, be made public as an almost indispensable addition to the scientific archives of the world. The doctor has steadily declined accepting membership in any geological or archaeological society, state, national or foreign, but his fame is widespread and his name one in which the citizens of the state of Ohio may well take pride.

EWTON BINKLEY, one of the practical farmers of Montgomery county, is a descendant of one of the early pioneers. He was born in Clay township, January 18, 1852, and is a son of Jesse A. and Caroline (Whistler) Binkley. Educated in the common schools he was reared a farmer's boy, and brought up to perform all kinds of farm labor from his youth. He also learned the cabinetmaker's trade, and when about twenty-four years of age, on October 5, 1875, married, in Clay township, Martha A. Welsh, who was born July 20, 1855, in Randolph township, and is a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Wenger) Welsh. William S. Welsh is a son of James and Margaret (Halm) Welsh and was born in Montgomery county.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Binkley settled in Miami county, living four years on a farm. Afterward they lived two years on a farm in Darke county, and then removed to the Binkley homestead in Clay county, upon which they lived eight years. In 1889 Mr. Binkley purchased his present farm of seventyfive acres, which he has greatly improved and made highly productive. It is in thoroughly good condition, and a splendid home for himself and family. Mr. Binkley is one of the progressive farmers of his county and a leader in agricultural circles. He and his wife had the following children; Olive P. , Omer L., Addie F. , and Charles C., all of whom are members of the United Brethren church, of which Mr. Binkley is himself a trustee. Politically he is a republican, and is in every way a worthy citizen of the county. He is a hard- working, industrious and practical farmer. His aim is to keep fully up with the times and to be known as a good and useful member of the community. He is descended from the best of stock, and is striving with great success to maintain the standing of his family, as established by a long line of honorable ancestry.

w* ALTER A. BLACK, cashier of the MM I First National bank, Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Dayton, February 13, 1867, a son of George A. and Mary C. (Hoff) Black, natives of Frederick, Md., and Miamisburg, Ohio, respectively. The paternal grandfather, Frederick Black, was born in September, 1783, died February 17, 1827, and his wife, Catherine Mouse, was born July 2, 1785.

George Alexander Black, the father, was born in Frederick, Md., November 19, 1823, and was reared at Alexanderville, this county, from five years of age. He began his business career as a clerk in a general store at the same place, where he later purchased a store, and was also engaged in merchandizing at Miamisburg. At the breaking out of the Civil war he located in Dayton, where he purchased an interest in a clothing and dry-goods business. In 1867 he embarked in the wholesale crockery business in the same city, in which he successfully continued until 1895, when he retired, and died in Dayton April 25, 1896. His children, who grew to maturity, were Walter A., Arthur D., Edward O. and Bessie M.

On the maternal side, Walter A. Black is of the fifth generation from John George and Justina Margaret (Schnerszel) Hoff, who came from Germany to America in the ship Polly, in 1765, and settled in Lancaster county, Pa. John George Hoff was born in Westerburg, Germany, October 22, 1733, and died at Lancaster, Pa., August 18, 1816. Jacob Hoff, his son and great-grandfather of our subject, was born in Lancaster, Pa., February 4, 1784, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and by occupation was a jeweler at Lancaster, Pa. His wife, Margaret, was a daughter of David Neiss, a native of Germany, who settled in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1773. William Hoff, son of Jacob and Margaret (Neiss) Hoff, and maternal grandfather of subject, was born in Lancaster, Pa., in 1808, began life as a clerk in a general store at Lebanon, Pa., working in that capacity several years at that place, Myerstown and Philadelphia. In 1828 he embarked in business at Myerstown, Pa., as a member of the firm of Hoff & Stover, continuing one year, and then located at Wormelsdorf, Berks county, Pa., where, as a member of the firm of Hoff & Deckert, he engaged in merchandizing until 1838, when the firm dissolved. Mr. Hoff then came to Miamisburg, Ohio, where, in 1839, as a member of the firm of Hoff & Deckert, he engaged in merchandizing, the partnership existing until 1847, when they dissolved. Mr. Hoff continued the business alone until 1858, when he erected the brick block now occupied by his son, George S. Hoff, having taken the latter into partnership, and the firm being Hoff & Son until the death of Mr. Hoff, in 1876. Mr. Hoff married, in 1828, Elizabeth Leis, and reared a family of eight children, of whom Mary C., mother of our subject, was the fifth child and third daughter.

Walter A. Black was reared in Dayton, where he received his education in the public schools and the Deaver preparatory school. He began life as a clerk in the Merchants' National bank, Dayton, where he remained two years. In the spring of 1887 he located at Denver, Colo., where he engaged in the real-estate business, and remained in that state until 1890, when he was appointed receiving teller of the Third National bank of Dayton,

Ohio, and occupied that position up to the spring of 1892. He was then elected cashier of the First National bank of Miamisburg, which position he still retains. Mr. Black was married March 6, 1888, to Mary, daughter of William I. and Marion C. (Carll) Craddock, of Louisville, Ky. , and has two daughters - Lulu H. and Marion C. Mr. Black is a member of the Presbyterian church, of the F. & A. M., R. A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of P. and I. O. F. ; politically he is a republican.

a APT. B. F. BOOKWALTER, who for many years was president of the firm of Bookwalter Bros. & Co. , and who is now vice-president of the Bookwalter Whegl company, of the growing little city of Miamisburg, was born in Johnstown, Pa., March 31, 1820. He is a son of John and Catherine ( Stump ) Bookwalter, who settled in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, in 1823.

Benjamin Franklin Bookwalter was reared in Montgomery county until sixteen years of age, in the meantime receiving as good an education as the common schools of that da}' could furnish. In 1836 he located in Winchester, Ohio, where he served an apprenticeship of four years at the carriage and wagonmaker's trade. In 1840 he removed to Germantown, Montgomery county, and there worked at his trade as a journeyman for nearly a year. After this he engaged in business for himself at Paris, Ohio, and continued there three years. In 1848 he established himself in the dry-goods business at Winchester, and was thus engaged for one year as a member of the firm of Halderman & Bookwalter, selling out at the end of that time. In 1852 he engaged in the manufacture of carriages at Seven Mile, Butler county, Ohio, and remained there in business until 1864. He then removed to

Miamisburg, and there, in 1865, became a member of the firm of Bookwalter Bros. & Co., which firm was engaged in the manufacture of carriages and light wagons. This firm in 1868 began the manufacture of carriage wheels exclusively, and in 1890 was absorbed by the Standard Wheel company, the Bookwaiter Wheel company being organized in 1891. For a long time Mr. Bookwalter traveled for the company, buying stock and selling the finished products of the factory. When the old company sold out to the Standard Wheel company Mr. Bookwalter was its president, and upon the re-organization of the company under its new name he was made vice-president thereof, a position which he still retains.

Mr. Bookwalter married December 8, 1844, Miss Abigail Gram, daughter of Conrad and Nancy (House) Gram, of Winchester, Ohio. To this marriage there have been born three children, as follows: Anna E., Winfield S., and Charles E. During the late Civil war Mr. Bookwalter was active in the organization of military companies, and was instrumental in filling three regiments for the war, beside raising a company for the 100 days' service. He also spent considerable time in the south on war department business, and performed noble work in looking after the sick and disabled soldiers of his state. He was captain of company D, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and was widely known as one of the actively patriotic men of Montgomery county. Mr. Bookwalter is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics is a republican. Few men in the county, if any, stand higher in business, social and religious circles than does Mr. Bookwaiter, he being well and widely known as a man of integrity and honor.

cated in the public schools of that place, of Hamilton, and of Miamisburg. He also attended Antioch college, at Yellow Springs, and removed to Miamisburg with his parents in 1865, there beginning the study of medicine in 1868, and graduating from Miami Medical college, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1871. He immediately located at Miamisburg, where, with the exception of one year spent in Dayton, he has ever since been engaged with success in the practice of medicine. Dr. Bookwalter was prominent in the organization of the board of health of Miamisburg in 1872, was health officer for several years, and is now clerk of the board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of the Montgomery county Medical society and of the state Medical association. Fraternally he is a Mason and in politics a republican, and is in all respects a highly esteemed citizen of Montgomery county.

The Bookwalter family is of Swiss origin and was founded in this country by Francis Bookwalter, great-grandfather of the subject of this biography. Francis left his native land on account of religious persecution and brought his wife to America, a few years prior to 1720, it would seem, or in that year. He bought land on the Schuylkill river, in Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his days.

ANIEL BOOKWALTER, deceased, was a prominent and successful manufacturer of Miamisburg and founder of the Bookwalter Wheel company, and was born in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, January 18, 1824. He was a son of John and Catherine (Stump) Bookwalter, both natives of Lancaster county, Pa., who settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1823. John Bookwalter built the first iron works at Johnstown, Pa., which he operated for about twenty-seven years, when they were totally destroyed by a severe flood in Stony creek. Soon afterward Mr. Bookwaiter packed up his few household goods, and with his little family started for the west in search of fortune. Traveling down the Ohio river he at length reached Cincinnati, from which place he and his wife walked to Miamisburg, each carrying a child in arms. Mr. Bookwalter purchased a farm of 160 acres in Jefferson township, where his wife died in 1824. She was a most devout and religious woman, with full belief in the efficacy of prayer, and before her death she placed her children in religious homes in order that they might-be well brought up.

Mr. Bookwalter, being of a roving disposition, after the death of his wife, traveled extensively in the southern states and the West Indies, and in 1828 died at Hallsville, Ross county, Ohio. He and his wife had four children, as follows: John, Mary (Mrs. David

Bowser), Benjamin and Daniel. The Bookwaiter family trace their origin to Switzerland, the original immigrants from that country to the United States having been two brothers, who left their native land on account of religious persecution. One of them settled in Philadelphia, the other in Lancaster county, Pa., and it is from this latter brother that Daniel Bookwalter is descended.

Daniel Bookwalter and sister were reared in the family of Rev. Michael Moyer, a Dunkard preacher, in Jefferson township, Montgomery county. Daniel remained with Rev. Mr. Moyer until after his marriage. In 1849 he began his business career in Miamisburg, first as a wagonmaker with Robert McConnell, and was thus engaged, in company with Mr. McConnell, with others, and alone, until 1869. At this time the plant was absorbed by the Kauffman Buggy company. In 1862 Mr. Bookwaiter embarked in the manufacture of wheels in Dayton, Ohio, as . a member of the firm of Zwick & Bookwalter, later as Zwick, Bookwalter & Co., and continued in business there until 1864, when he sold his interest, and erected a wheel factory at Miamisburg, which he operated in connection with his carriage business until 1866. In this year his plant was destroyed by fire. Subsequently he organized the firm of Bookwalter Bros. & Co., which engaged exclusively in the manufacture of wheels. This firm was afterward absorbed by the Standard Wheel company, in 1890, and a year later went out of business. Knowing that there was a demand for fine wheels, Mr. Bookwalter, his brother Benjamin, and Lee Mitchell, members of the old concern, re-organized the business in 1891, formed a new stock company and established a new plant, one of the finest of the kind in the country, its products including all styles and grades of buggy and light wagon wheels. As president, Mr. Bookwalter was always an important factor in the affairs of the corporation and also of the manufacturing community, his power of organization and his experience in business being of especial value. Notwithstanding the great demands made upon his time and attention by his private interests, his energy was largely exerted in other directions. To his efforts and public spirit is due the successful prosecution of many enterprises for the benefit of Miamisburg, and, as an instance, it is recalled that his influence and financial assistance gave direct impetus to the movement which resulted in the erection of the North river bridge in 1859. This bridge was built partly by private subscription and partly with public money. Since that time he has always been prominent in public affairs. His most important work of recent years has been the promotion of the Enterprise Carriage company, and he did much to secure that valuable business for Miamisburg.

12, 1847, to Melinda Weaver, daughter of Philip and Magdalena (Gebhart) Weaver, and granddaughter of Jacob and Margaret (Gebhart) Weaver, the latter of whom settled in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1804. Mr. and Mrs. Bookwalter had seven children, as follows: John W.; Emily Frances, who died at the age of two years, two months and twenty-three days; Charles L. , Luella, who died when two years and two months old; Daniel H. ; Edward W., who died March 21, 1886; and Mary, now Mrs. Albert Mueller. Mr. Bookwalter belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, as does his widow. He served as a trustee of his church, and as chairman of the board. He was also a mem- | ber of the boord of health, president of the board of trade, and a director of the Miamisburg Building & Loan association. In politics ; he was originally a whig, but after the organ- : ization of the republican party supported its men and measures. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Bookwalter was always an active and successful man, standing high in both business and religious circles, and a most valuable citizen of the community in which he lived. He met with a serious injury by accident on the nth of March, 1896, from which he died on the 28th of the same month.

AVID BASORE, of the firm of Basore & Schlenker, proprietors of the Florentine hotel, Germantown, Ohio, was born in that town on January 3, 1847, a son °f George and Sarah (Monebeck) Basore. His father was born in Virginia, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, after the close of which he came to Ohio, and settled in Germantown, where he engaged in horse dealing. He died in 1867 aged seventy-five years. He was reared in the Dunkard faith, and was a l democrat in politics. He was twice married; by the first wife he had six children, all of whom are deceased. In 1 846 he married Sarah Monebeck, of Germantown, who died in 1896. They reared five children; David; Joseph, of Germantown; Cyrus, of Dayton; Charles, of Dayton, and Clara, now Mrs. William Shaffer, of Germantown.

David Basore was educated in the public schools of Germantown and learned the trade of a carriage blacksmith, which he followed for twelve years. He then engaged in general blacksmithing for himself, and so continued for some years, and for twenty years dealt extensively in horses. He served as constable of Germantown for twenty years, and as marshal of the town for twelve years. In April, 1893, he engaged in hotel keeping, in 1894 admitted Frederick Schlenker as partner, and in 1895 purchased the Florentine hotel, their present location. He is a democrat in politics and a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Basore was married, in 1871, to Miss Josephine Shertzer, a daughter of George and Lydia (Ripley) Shertzer, of Germantown, Ohio, by whom he has one child, Eva, now the wife of Frederick Schlenker, and who is also the mother of one child, David. Mr. Basore and family are esteemed members of the German Reformed church.

AJ. FLAVIUS K. BOWLES, of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in West Carrollton, Montgomery cr nty, March 19, 1844, a son of James and Cynthia A. (Brown) Bowles, Virginians, who were among the early settlers of Miami township. Maj. Bowles is of Scotch-Irish descent.

Maj. Flavius Kemper Bowles grew to manhood in Miami township, receiving his education in the common schools and in a select school in Miamisburg. Left an orphan at fourteen years of age, he was thrown partially on his own resources, and worked on a farm until he was eighteen years old. On July 30, 1862, he enlisted in company E, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and after nearly three years of faithful service was honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., June 8, 1865. He served in the army of the Cumberland and among the principal engagements, in which he participated were Chickamauga, Atlanta, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Nashville. He was badly wounded in the right leg at Chickamauga, slightly wounded at Kenesaw Mountain, was taken prisoner at Lexington, Ky., in September, 1862, paroled and exchanged in December of the same year, and rejoined his regiment in east Tennessee in January, 1863. On his return home he engaged as agent and buyer for a leaf tobacco firm, continuing in that capacity until 1870, when he was engaged as clerk in a shoe store at Miamisburg for three years. In 1872 Maj. Bowles again engaged in buying leaf tobacco, continuing until 1877, when he was appointed a United States gauger under Col. Robert Williams. He served in that capacity until 1883, when he was promoted to deputy collector of the Third revenue district of Ohio, serving until 1885, when he returned to the leaf tobacco trade. In 1886 he represented Cotterill, Fenner & Co., of Dayton, as traveling salesman, and in the fall of 1887 was nominated on the republican ticket and elected clerk of courts for Montgomery county. Although the county was strongly democratic Maj. Bowles ran ahead of his ticket upwards of 1,500 votes. In the fall of 1890 he was re-nominated and re-elected to this office, again running ahead of his ticket. He served as clerk longer than any other incumbent of the position, owing to a change in the time of taking the office, his service covering a period of six years and six months. Since that time he has been more or less engaged in real-estate transactions, as well as in other enterprises. During the Cincinnati riot of 1884, he commanded the Fourth regiment of militia, having been a member of the O. N. G. , for two years with the rank of major, and on account of services rendered during that exciting period was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the Thirteenth regiment, O. N. G.

Maj. Bowles has been twice married, his first wife having been Josephine Wolf, of Miamisburg, and his present wife, Charlotte A., daughter of James C. and Susannah (Mullendore) Emley, of Miami township; to this second marriage have been born two children: J.

Edmund and Daisy M. Maj. Bowles is a supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church, a mejnber of the F. & A. M. ; Jr. O. U. A. M., and G. A. R. , having been the organizer and first post commander of A1 Mason post, G. A. R. , of Miamisburg. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, of Dayton; of the order of K. of P., and of uniform rank, K. of P. , and served as deputy grand chancellor of Ohio K. of P. under Grand Chancellor Herbert W. Lewis, in 1893. He served as aid on Gen. Wagner's staff, Ohio brigade, from 1894 to 1896, when he was appointed aid-decamp on the staff of Gen. J. C. Howes, who succeeded Gen. Wagner.

Politically, Maj. Bowles has always been an active worker in the interests of the republican party. He is at this time a member of several charitable committees of the county. In his business and official life he has accumulated a competency, and now occupies one of the most beautiful homes in the city, situated on East Linden avenue. Maj. Bowles is one of the most prominent and influential citizens of the community in which he lives, and his official career has given him an extensive acquaintance, not only in his county but throughout the state.

OSEPH BRANDT, one of the most substantial farmers of Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 6, 1842, a son of Joseph and Nancy (Bachman) Brandt.

Joseph Brandt, Sr., also a native of the Keystone state and born in Lancaster county, was of German descent, and a farmer by occupation. On attaining manhood he married Mrs. Nancy Neisley, whose maiden name was Bachman, and who, at the time of her marriage with Mr. Brandt, was the widow of Martin Neisley, to whom she had borne four children - Daniel, Christian, Peter, who died at the age of forty-five years, and Anna, who died young. After her union with Mr. Brandt she became the mother of two children - Joseph and Fannie. Joseph Brandt, Sr., died when forty-five years old, a life-long and devoted member of the Mennonite church.

Joseph Brandt, whose name introduces this biographical notice, was reared to the business of milling in his native county, where he passed his early manhood, working at his calling until twenty-five years of age, when he came to Ohio and located at Stillwater. Here he was employed in a flouring-mill for seven years, and then moved to Piatt county, 111., where he worked as a miller for two years, finally returning to the mill at Stillwater in Montgomery county, Ohio. Here, December 6, 1870, Mr. Brandt married Miss Sarah Kinsey, who was born April 7, 1847, >n Randolph township, Montgomery county, on the farm now owned by Ananias Frantz, this having been the old homestead of her parents, Jacob and Susan (Boyer) Kinsey. For three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brandt lived on the old Kinsey homestead, one and a half miles south of Salem, and then moved to Madison township, and in 1884 bought their present farm of 103 acres, which Mr. Brandt has thoroughly improved and placed in a state of high cultivation. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Brandt was a daughter, Olive, who is married to Irvin P. Hire, real-estate dealer of Dayton, and is now the mother of one child, Mabel Lenore.

Mr. and Mrs. Brandt are conscientious members of the German Baptist church and faithfully observe its simple teachings but rigid discipline. In politics Mr. Brandt is a republican, but has never sought office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his private affairs, which have gained him a fair competence and in the pursuit of which he has won the respect of his neighbors.

ENRY P. BREHM, a well-known and popular citizen of Miamisburg, and foreman of David Groby's planing mill, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, February io, 1848. He is a son of Henry and Mary (Leis) Brehm, natives of Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pa., but who came to Ohio in 1837, settling in Miami township, Montgomery county, where Mr. Brehm engaged in farming. This occupation he followed until 1884, when he removed to Miamisburg, where he died April 21, 1895, in his eighty-ninth year. His parents were Henry and Christiana (Bumgardner) Brehm, who were both of German parentage. Henry and Mary (Leis) Brehm were the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom grew to mature years, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Anspach; Rebecca, wife of Henry Paff; George; Catherine, wife of Joshua Null; Mary, wife of John P. Weaver; Wilhelmina, wife of Jacob Baver; Sarah, wife of Henry Leis; Margaret, wife of Jacob Miller; Henry P., the subject of this sketch, and John W.

schools at Miamisburg. When he was twentyeight years of age he left the farm and has since resided in Miamisburg, where he has been employed in the planing mill of David Groby and has been foreman since 1877.

Mr. Brehm is a member of the First Reformed church, and has occupied high positions in the various fraternal organizations of which he is a member. He is past grand of Marion lodge, I. O. O. F., and past chief patriarch of the Odd Fellows encampment. He is past chancellor of Miamisburg lodge, Knights of Pythias, is a member of canton Groby, and of the Daughters of Rebekah, and is also a thirty-second degree Mason. In politics he is a republican, and as such was elected to the city council of Miamisburg in 1894, showing himself in the service of the public to be greatly and effectively interested in the welfare of the place. Mr. Brehm has won the confidence and esteem of men of all parties by his faithful discharge of his official duties.

OSEPH ALFRED BROWN, M. D., a successful physician and surgeon of Germantown, was born in Camden, Preble county, Ohio, January 19, 1855, a son of William and Mary A. (Beall) Brown, and comes of Quaker stock. On the paternal side he is of English extraction, his ancestors having settled in New Jersey prior to the Revolution. On the maternal side he is of Scotch- Irish decent, his ancestor, the Rev. Gideon Beall, a distinguished Covenanter, having left Scotland on account of religious persecution, and settled near Washington, D. C., in the adjacent suburb of Georgetown, which was named in honor of his son, George Beall, cated in his native county, and in 1873 began the study of medicine; he was graduated from the Medical college of Ohio at Cincinnati, in 1878, and at once located at Germantown, Ohio, where he has attained a large and lucrative practice. He married March 5, 1878, Mary L. , daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Zitzer) Singer, of Lewisburg, Ohio, and has two children, Edna and Helen.

Dr. Brown is a member of the American Medical association, the Ohio state Medical society, the Mississippi valley Medical society, and the Montgomery county Medical society. He was a delegate from the state of Ohio to the American Medical association in 1892, is a Scottish rite Mason, a member of the I. O. O. F. encampment, patriarchs militant, and K. of P. . Politically, he is a republican.

The doctor has contributed many papers of value to the various medical fraternities to which he belongs, and some of his professional essays have met with decided approbation for their originality and strength.

ORVON GRAFF BROWN, president of Twin Valley college and Miami Military institute, Germantown, Ohio, was, at the time of his election, the youngest college president in the country. He was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Penn., July 1, 1863, within sound of the cannons at Gettysburg. His father, Rev. W. Kennedy Brown, D. D., of Fayette county, Penn., is a descendant of the Chester county (Penn.) George Brown (Gentleman), of colonial times. His grandmother Brown is a lineal descendant of Adam de Saltsburg, of Bavaria, who joined with William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings. His mother, Martha Mc- Clellan Brown, LL. D., of Baltimore, Md., is a direct descendant of the Scotch Clan Mc- Clellan. She founded the National Woman's

Christian Temperance union at Chautauqua, in August, 1874 - a movement of historic interest and moment. Orvon Graff Brown was well taught at an early age, although he was not placed in school until nine years old. At thirteen he began to evince a decided talent for scientific experiment, and to take great interest in collecting in his own room practical appliances in chemistry, physics and electricity. His parents encouraged his tastes, giving him, in succession, the advantages of Mount Union college; special school, Pittsburg; university of Cincinnati; and Denver university, as well as private instructions under specialists in the east. At the age of nineteen he was elected professor of science in the Cincinnati Wesleyan college, where he made a successful record as instructor, and as inventor of apparatus for class experiments. He had always taken great interest in the sciences of geology and conchology, and made at this time a very large and valuable collection of specimens. When about twenty-two years of age he projected the Twin Valley college (so named from its location in the Twin valley, an arm of the Miami valley), and on February 4, 1886, five months after his twenty-third birthday, he was elected its president, which position he still holds.

In January, 1894, Prof. Brown organized the Miami Military institute, as a preparatory school of Twin Valley college. This school practically demonstrates his theory that individual instruction is essential to the building of manhood. Class-work and group instructions are necessarily mechanical and inefficient. No two students' powers are alike and like results should not be sought from diverse powers or gifts. He recognizes four sides to every manly structure, the moral, physicial, mental and social; and erecting these according to their original strength, he develops a scientific manhood. Like a scientific work, his method ap- peals to common sense. Hence his experiment, which has been so successful, is now being adopted by other teachers and schools. This method, however, cannot be applied in very large schools, as in them it is manifestly impossible to study each student separately and to cultivate him personally - and the ultimate personality is the measure of his individual manhood.

Prof. Brown married, April 5, 1887, Miss Lulu Reed, of Germantown, Ohio. She is a granddaughter of the late Samuel Reed, a pioneer of Montgomery county, and through her mother (Martha Zeller) she is a lineal descendant of Capt. John C. Negley, and also of Bishop Andrew Zeller (of the United Brethren church), both of whom have contributed to the history of Montgomery county. The children of Orvon Graff Brown and wife are Reed McClellan (born January 28, 1888), Samuel Kennedy (born December 2, 1890), and Mildred (born May 28, 1894).

Prof. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has served as an official member and lay delegate to the annual and the lay conferences of his denomination ever since he has resided in the community.

EV. JESSE K. BRUMBAUGH, a leading minister of the German Baptist church, with which he united in about 1865, and became a minister in 1880, is a native of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a grandson of one of its original pioneers.

Jacob Brumbaugh, great-grandfather of subject, it is surmised, came from Germany, and William Brumbaugh, grandfather of Rev. Jesse K. , was a native of Pennsylvania, was a farmer, married a Miss Martin, and of his children the names of the following are remembered: John, William, David, Daniel, Jacob and Mrs. Elizabeth Cripe, of Clinton county, Ind. He came to Ohio with his family about 1805, and settled near Amity, Montgomery county, being one of the first pioneers and settlers in this section, where he cleared up a farm and passed the remainder of his life in its cultivation, dying in the faith of the German Baptist church.

Jacob Brumbaugh, father of the Rev. Jesse K., was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, being eleven years of age when brought to Ohio by his father. He was reared on the pioneer farm, and developed marked mechanical ingenuity, being a good carpenter, blacksmith, shoemaker and tailor. He was a most valuable man in a new settlement, being physically very strong, and, at the raising of the log cabins of that day, was always placed at the corner, as he was able to form a straight joint and a true right angle and was very expert with the ax, that most indispensable tool of the pioneer.

Jacob Brumbaugh married Miss Catherine Wogaman, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, and after marriage settled on land now owned by Rev. Jesse K. , but adjoining the present residence of the latter on the south. This farm contained eighty-six acres, all in forest, and had been entered by John Brumbaugh, brother of Jacob. This tract Jacob Brumbaugh cleared up thoroughly, improving it at first with a log dwelling, and finally converting it into a fertile farm, upon which he erected a more comfortable residence. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh were ten in number and were named Elizabeth, John, Jacob, Samuel, Mary, David, Noah, Abraham, Jesse K. , and Daniel - the last named dying at the age of seven years.

Jacob Brumbaugh was a member of the German Baptist church and was possessed of strong religious convictions. Highly intelligent and of an observing and contemplative temperament, he won the respect of all with whom he had either personal or business relations. His reputation for integrity was without a blemish, and it was well said of him that " his word was as good as his bond." With a foresight inherent in his nature, he bought at an early day 400 acres of land in Elkhart county, Ind., near Goshen, and this property he gave to his sons; he also owned 240 acres on the Plymouth road, in the same county, and at his death, May 11, 1881, was well able to provide for all his children, who remember him . with a well-deserved affection and regret.

Rev. Jesse K. Brumbaugh was born August 26, 1837, on the old Randolph township homestead, and has passed all his days on this farm and the one adjoining. He was educated in the common school of his district and at a normal school in Dayton, and began teaching school in 1858. He taught in Phillipsburg, Montgomery county, for about six years, in his own township seven years, and also in Miami county, his entire experience in this work covering the period of fourteen years. December 4, 1862, he married Miss Mary K. Hocker, who was born two miles east of Salem, February 18, 1841, a daughter of Rev. John and Catherine (Sterling) Hocker. Her father was a native of Dauphin county, Pa., of German descent, was a farmer, came to Ohio in 1839, and settled on 230 acres of land in Montgomery county, and died in 1867, aged over seventy-nine years, a member and minister of the River Brethren church, and greatly respected as a pioneer and useful citizen. His children, born in the following order, were Adam, Anna, Catherine, Christian, John and Mary K.

After marriage Rev. Jesse K. Brumbaugh lived on the old homestead until 1867, when he moved to a farm of his own, which he had purchased in the previous year. This farm then contained sixty acres, to which he added twenty-one, also purchasing the interest of the heirs in the old homestead, so that to-day he

Emma, Jennie and Alice, all now living, and five who died young. Politically Mr. Brumbaugh, while not an active partisan, is in sympathy with and supports the republican party. His children are all well educated: Noah J. is a graduate of Harvard university, is now at Hillsboro, Ohio, a teacher; Granville W., who is a teacher in Dayton, Ohio, district, is a young man of high culture, having been graduated from Huntingdon, Pa., college, has been superintendent of the Randolph schools and principal of the Brookville schools, married Lizzie M. Miller, and is the father of three children: Glenn M., Paul N. and Emerson Webster. Miss Jennie Brumbaugh graduated from the Huntingdon, Pa., college, June 18, 1896.

The grandfather of Mrs. Jesse I\. Brumbaugh was a farmer of Pennsylvania, lived in Harrisburg, and reared a family of six children, named Adam, George, Jacob, Benjamin, John and Anna, all of whom reached maturity and became useful members of society.

OHN BUEHNER (deceased), formerly a well-known contractor and builder of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Muehlheim, Wurtemberg, Germany, November 29, 1807, and was one of a family of seventeen children. He passed through the course of study of the public schools of his native place with honor and credit, and afterward served an apprenticeship of several years at the stonecutter's and mason's trades in the city of Sulz. On May 26, 1832, he emigrated to America, having traveled on foot from his old home to the seaport of Bremen, where he was detained almost a month waiting to obtain passage on board a ship for the new world. After a rough voyage of seventy-one days, he landed at Baltimore, Md., September 3, where he found the Asiatic cholera prevailing to such an extent that business was at a standstill, and he at once started on foot for Cincinnati, Ohio, only to find that the dread disease had made its appearance before his arrival. Being unable to obtain a night's lodging on account of the unwillingness of the people to receive a stranger, he made his way to Germantown, Montgomery county, where he secured employment, remaining there until the spring of 1834. He then removed to Miamisburg, where he was actively engaged in business as a stonemason, and in brick-laying, contracting and building, up to 1870, when he retired, turning over his business to his eldest and youngest sons, John and Frank. Mr. Buehner was also for many years engaged in the manufacture of brick, and during his business career erected nearly all the principal buildings in Miamisburg and vicinity. His wife, Louisa, was a daughter of Rev. Peter Dechant, a German Reformed minister, and to her he was married November 18, 1835 ; she bore him eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity : John M., George H., Catherine (Mrs. John Pressler), Charles, Peter D., Franklin P., Candice (Mrs. George Loesch), Oletta (Mrs. Albert Zimmerman), and Anna. In politics Mr. Buehner was originally a democrat, but, on the breaking out of the late Civil war, joined the republican party, with whom he affiliated up to the time of his death. He was born and bred in the Lutheran faith, and died February 14, 1896, in his eighty-ninth year.

Charles Buehner, son of John and Louisa (Dechant) Buehner, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, January 3, 1847, and here he grew to manhood and received a public school education. He served an apprenticeship of two and a half years at the machinist's trade with D. H. Hoover & Son, and in 1866 went to Centralia, 111., where he was employed by the Illinois Central railroad company for six years. In 1872 he returned to Miamisburg and worked for Hoover & Gamble, and the Miamisburg Cutlery company, up to 1878 ; from 1878 to 1880 he was with the Woodsdale Paper company, Woodsdale, Ohio, having charge of their engine and machine department ; in 1880 he located at Franklin, where he was employed four years by the Franklin Paper company, and in 1884 embarked in business for himself in general job work as a machinist, in which he has since successfully continued.

and Fannie. Mr. Buehner is a member of the Lutheran church, is a R. A. M. , and a member of the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a republican, and has served one term as a member of the city council of Franklin, and one term as a member of the school board. As a business man his name stands without a blemish, and as a citizen he holds the respect of the entire community in which he resides.