Lemon Township (part 3 of 3)

Jonathan J. Pettit, son of Joab Pettit and Nancy Thomas, was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, November 9, 1806. His mother lived to the great age of ninety-nine, her death then being the result of an accident. She was walking on a stone floor, when her cane slipped, and she fell, breaking her hip. She had always yeen a very active woman, was highly esteemed by all who knew her, and had been a member of the Methodist Church for over sixty years. Mr. Pettit was married in Middletown, in 1844, to Susan Bridge, who was born in this county, in 1811. She is the daughter of William Bridge and Rebecca Grimes, who came to this county in 1804, and settled in Middletown. James Grimes, the grandfather of Susan Bridge, was a_ local Methodist Episcopal preacher, the first Methodist sermon that was ever preached in Middletown being delivered in his house, that being used as the church for a number of years. In this part of the country he was a cabinetmaker, and used to make the coffins, and then go and preach the funeral sermon. The house mentioned was located on what is now known as East Fourth Street, but was then known as East Greet Street. He died at the age of eighty-seven, in March, 1845. Mr. Pettit's grandfather was in the War of 1812. Jonathan J. Pettit came to Middletown in 1843. He is a builder and brickmaker and layer. He has been a member of the Methodist Church for over fifty-four years, having joined in 1828. Raped

John George Rish, farmer, was born in Germany, on the River Rhine, on the 2d of December, 1814. He is the son of Frederick Rish and Katherine Weber, now both dead. He came to this county in 1846, having in February, 1887, to Elizahe same neighborhood as her Pee April 28, 1812. She is thé daughiercar Von: rad Eveningred and Louisa Stoke. Neitigs the parents of Mr. or Mrs. Rish ever came from Ceeriaey They have had nine children. Catherine Segalox was born October 18, 1838; Mary Stoke, November 1, 1841, dying in October, 1879; Emma Diver, August oid 1848 ; Elizabeth Schriner, August 11, 1845, deceased; Samuel, August 15, 1848; and Sarah Shafer, March 28, 1854. George died in Germany, and the dates of the births of

Daniel and Julia Ann have not been preserved. Mr. Rish was made an apprentice to the shoemakers' trade very early in life, being only fifteen years old, giving for the privilege twenty dollars and two years of his time for nothing, supporting himself. 'This occupation he has always followed, but he has now a farm in addition.

Nicholas Rushart, born in Bavaria, August 8, 1826, emigrated to this country in 1853, and not long after was married to Margaret Meny Maixner, who was also a native of Bavaria, where she was born on the 15th of June, 1834. The parents of Mr. Rushart were Jacob Rushart and Charlotta Stuhie, and those of Mrs. Rushart George and Mary Ann Maixner. None of them ever came to this country. Mr. Rushart has six clfildren, Charlotta Eve, George John, Mary Anna, Eliza Catherine, Nicholas John, and Freddie. Mr. Rushart was out in the hundred-days' service.

Stephen V. Russell was born in Lemon Township December 17, 1811, and was reared on a farm, staying there until he was fifteen or sixteen years old. Then he went out to work by day's work and by the month, remaining at this until within the last twelve or fifteen years, when he began dealing in stock, buying and feeding hogs, and then selling them. He is the son of George Russell and Mary Vail. His father's people came down the Ohio River in a flat-boat to Cincinnati, and then came on horseback to the Miami River, where they began clearing and building a cabin. George Russell died when his son was a small boy. The mill built by his grandfather Vail was torn away by high water in 1805, when it had stood but two years. Stephen V. Russell has a table made out of the first walnut log sawed in this township. His parents were Friends, and to that belief their son still adheres.

Thomas E. Reed, physician, was born in this county in 1844. He is the son of William Reed and Margaret Sigerson, both born and brought up in this county. After a collegiate education at the Miami University at Oxford, he began reading medicine in the office of Dr. W. D. Linn, of Middletown. He then studied at the Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, where he graduated in the year 1872, afterwards locating in Vincennes, Indiana, in partnership with Dr. 8. C. Whiting, where he remained two years, since when he has been in active practice in Middletown. He is a firm believer in the doctrine of similia similibus curantur, and conforms his practice strictly to that of the homeopathic school of medicine.

James Martin Robison was born April 11, 1811, in Butler County. His father, James Robison, was born and brought up in Pennsylvania, and his mother, Jane Parks, was born in Pennsylvania, but when four years of age was removed to Kentucky. They came to this county in 1806. <A brother to his father, John Robison, was in the Revolutionary War. At the age of seventeen James M. Robison began learning the wagon trade, when his employer broke up business. He again returned to the farm, afterwards was in Middletown in the lumber business, and conducted a planing-mill where Mr. Tytus's paper-mill now stands. He also owns a fine farm two miles north of Middletown, on the Germantown Pike, and a large steam saw-mill, one hundred and forty feet long and forty feet wide, three stories high. The first story is built of stone. The mill is of fortyfive horse power capacity. There is also a turning-lathe and planer. It is situated where there is business all of the time. He was married on the 14th of September, 1851, to Sarah D. Talbert, who was born in North Carolina in 1825. She is the daughter of William Talbert, who died March 9, 1867, and Willmett Lamb, who died December 7, 1837. The father came in 1837, but the mother never came. She lived and died in Preble County. Mr. Robison has been a member of the New School Baptist Church for about twenty years. His wife is a member of the Protestant Methodist Church, and has a large acquaintance and circle of friends.

Abraham Simpson, retired farmer, was born in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on the fifth of September, 1795. His parents were Thomas Simpson and Margaret Griggs. He came to this country from New Jersey in 1818. His father had left home, in 1799, to come to this region on horseback, by the way of Fort Pitt, and from that place, now known as Pittsburg, started on alone. The man who kept the tavern there persuaded him to trade his horse for a skiff and come down the river, as it was considered very dangerous to travel any other way. So he, and a companion he met in that place, left together, having plenty of provisions, and were never heard of afterwards. Abraham was reared on a farm until he had attained sufficient age to be put as an apprentice to the blacksmith's trade, where he stayed four years. After completing his time he worked for a little while, but. could get no steady employment, and determined to go West to Ohio. With his brotherin-law, Seth Dye, who had a wife and one small child, about a year old, they left, and were six weeks and four days on the road. The highways were very muddy, there being no turnpikes then; but they had a good team of horses, and got through with only one accident. They overtook an Irishman and his family who had four horses to his wagon, and Mrs. Dye was persuaded to get in their wagon, as there was a place to lie down. . She had not gone far before they upset, breaking three of her ribs. All thought the child was killed, but it was not, and in fact had scarcely received any injury.

After getting to Middletown Mr. Simpson worked at his trade, blacksmithing, for about twenty years, his shop being the only one in the town. He then sold out and bought a farm of one hundred and thirty acres. He has added to it until it now comprises one hundred and ninetysix. It is one of the best improved farms between Middletown and Lebanon. He has been a member of the

Presbyterian Church for about fifty years, his wife joining at the same time. Nearly all his children are members also. He was married on the 15th of May, 1823, in Warren County, five miles west of Lebanon, to Euphemia Longstreet, born in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in 1799, on the 9th of January.- Her parents were Aaron Longstreet, who died June 7, 1858, and Mary Higgins, who died March 20, 1862. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have had nine children.

Martin Sheets was born in Miami County, Ohio, February 3, 1824. His father, David Sheets, died January 30, 1836, and Sarah Fouts, his mother, died October 28, 1862. He was married November 28, 1848, in Hamilton, to Elizabeth J. Matson, whose parents were Enoch Matson and Mary Direly. She was born in this county, September 20, 1824, and her father died in March, 1847, and her mother, May 5, 1855. They came to the county in 1807, but the grandfather came in 1800. His name was Frederick Fouts. He was drafted during the War of 1812, but instead of going out hired a substitute, for whom he paid eighty dollars. Mr. Sheets stayed on the farm until the age of twenty was attained, when he entered a blacksmith's shop as an apprentice, serving two years. Then he labored asa journeyman for a year and half, starting out for himself September 20, 1847, in the village of Amanda, and has been working at the business ever since, with the exception of eight months he spent in Mlinois in farming, in 1862, then returning to his old home. He is a member of the Masonic order, and has been so since 1868, holding the office of junior warden and trustee for a good many years. He has also been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1853, his wife also joining at the same time. Their children are William Alexander, born February 22, 1850; David H., August 10, 1852; Charles M. and Henry B., twins, born on the 15th of May, 1856, and dying the same day; Eddie, February 2, 1862, dying January 7, 1863; and two infants, one born on the 25th of December, 1854, and the other on the Ist of April, 1864, both dying on the day of their birth. Mr. Sheets was supervisor in 1851. A brother, Rebert Sheets, was in the army as a private, and died of small-pox at Paducah.

Peter P. Schenck, an old and esteemed farmer of Madison Township, was born in Somerset County, New Jersey, on the 3d of May, 1801. He is the son of Garret G. Schenck, who was born April 30, 1758, and died in 1839, and Jane Van Kirk, born September 8, 1769, and dying in 1836. They were both born in Monmouth County, in that State. The father was in the Revolutionary War for four. or five years. Peter P. Schenck's birth-place was about forty miles from New York City. It was sold when he was about six years of age, his parents then buying a farm in Monmouth County, within one mile of the lower bay of New York, and six miles from Sandy Hook, where they lived until 1816. That farm was then sold, and his father came to Ohio. Peter was then fifteen

The present Mr. Schenck lived there until he married Catherine Johnson in 1821, and in 1822 moved to Butler County, having lived here ever since, or sixty years. They had five children, one of whom only is living, his youngest, who is forty-six years of age, now living at Peoria, Illinois. Their births and deaths are as follows: Johnson, born December 12, 1821, died September 12, 1839; Mary Ann, born February 25, 1823, died July 21, 1854; William, born March 24, 1826, died danuary 26, 1875; Garrett, born July 8, 1830, died July 24, 1830; Henry, born December 14, 1835. Mrs. Schenck's father, John Johnson, came to Ohio in 1810, and died in 1850; and Polly Sutphin, her mother, was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Mrs. Schenck died in 1858, and in 1868 Mr. Schenck married Mrs. Elizabeth Heffner, whose maiden name was Morningstar. He was township trustee for about twelve years. His occupation has been that of a farmer.

William J. Schenck, son of B. G. Schenck and Pheebe J. DuBois, was born in Warren County, Ohio, November 25, 1854. He began the livery business in member of the Presbyterian Church, and has been so for ten years. He was the secretary of its Sunday-school for three years. He is the grandson of a soldier of the Revolutionary War, William Schenck. His brother, A. D. Schenck, was in active service for three years. In 1864 he went to West Point, to school, graduating in 1868, and has been in the service ever since. He has been to California, Mexico, and Texas.

Michael Simpson was born in York County, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1820, being the son of Arthur Simpson and Catherine Butcher. He was raised on a farm, and at the age of fifteen went to Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia, and learned the tailor's trade. He served four years at this, and afterward engaged in buying and selling grain and shipping it to Cincinnati. About ten years ago he came to Middletown, and opened a merchant tailoring establishment. He has been a member of the Methodist Church for twentyeight years, his wife joining the Church at the same time. Her maiden name was Ellen Warner. She was born in Lewis County, West Virginia, June 13, 1822, and was the daughter of John Warner and Rachel Rush, who came to this county in 1820. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson were married April 25, 1847. 'They have had ten children. Theodore C. was born February 27, 1848; Frances C., July 23, 1850; Henry A., September 22, 1853; Joseph H., February 25, 1855; John R., January 24, 1859; Carrie E., May 18, 1861; Mamie L., November 14, 1862; Ida May, August 19, 1864; Susf R., July 24, 1868 ; Jean W., October 14, 1872. Mr. Simp- son was a justice of the peace for three years, being elected in 1853. His son enlisted in 1862, and was captured and sent to Andersonville Prison for about four months, coming very near dying. He enlisted in the Fifty-third Ohio Regiment. Of Mr. Simpson's children Frances C. has received a very fine education, and for the last twelve years has been teaching school in Jeffersonville. Henry A. Simpson is a cutter in a large tailoring establishment in Columbus, Ohio. John R. is the assistant cutter in the Middletown establishment. Theodore C. Simpson is book-keeper and paymaster in a large tobacco establishment.

William Sebald was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 10, 1830. His parents are Casper Sebald and Margaret Schalk, the mother coming to this county with William in 1854. He was married in Hamilton, on the 29th of September, 1857, to Mary Dilg, daughter of Henry Dilg and Louisa Schwab, who was born in Hamilton June 12, 1841. Her parents came here in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Sebald have had ten children. The first was an infant, dying shortly after its birth, in 1858. Louisa M. Keller was born in May, 1860; Minnie A., June 10, 1861; George H., November 15, 1864; Edward C., August 11, 1866; William J., April 15, 1869; Charles, September 2, 1871; Frank A., January 26, 1874; Mamie A., April 9, 1876, and Gustavus A., January 28, 1879. Frank A. died April 15, 1875. Mr. Sebald learned carriage painting and trimming in Bavaria, and after coming to this county he worked at his trade for about five years, when he built a brewery in Middletown, where he carried on the brewing business until his death, which occurred December 10, 1880, his wife carrying on the business. He was a member of the town council and school board about five years.

Daniel C. Snyder was born in Madison Township, May 8, 1837. His parents were Daniel and Catherine Ann Snyder. He is a farmer. He was married December 10, 1857, to Mary Jane Sinkey, daughter of John Sinkey and Louisa A. Weikel. She was born in Amanda, Lemon Township, April 15, 1888. They have had fiye children. Sarah C. Snyder was born January 1, 1859; John M. Snyder, November 22, 1862; Daniel S. Snyder, November 21, 1866; Clara L. Snyder, December 13, 1871, and William M. Snyder, April 21, 1875. Daniel S. and William M. are dead.

Joseph Sutphin was born in Lemon Township, December 24, 1817. His parents, John Sutphin and Jane Potter, were of the earliest families in the neighborhood. His grandfather, Abraham Sutphin, was in the Revolutionary War, and his father, John Sutphin, in the War of 1812. Moses Potter settled in Lemon Township in 1795, and followed the occupation of a farmer. He was married on the 14th of April, 1840, at Piqua, to Caroline Johnston, born in that town, in 1819. Her father, William Johnston, died in 1823, and her mother, Mary" Shaw, is also dead. Three children have been given to this marriage - Charles Sutphin, Harriet J. Gunckel, and Mary Belle Pendleton. Charles enlisted in 1861, in the Thirty-fourth Ohio Infantry, and was afterwards appointed as a lieutenant in the Ninety-third, serving three years, and was wounded in the battle of Chickamauga. Mr. Sutphin has been a member of the school board for nine years, and has been a member of the Episcopal Church since 1860. His business is that of a miller and paper manufacturer.

Jacob Schaffer was born in Bavaria, Germany, November 24, 1841, and came to this county in 1860, and to the United States three years before. His first residence was in Germantown, where he had an uncle living. He began learning a trade there, working at it for three years. In 1860 he came to Middletown, when he went to work at his trade, but went out in the army April 19, 1861, in the Twelfth Ohio Infantry, for threé months. He re-enlisted December 2, 1861, in the Sixty-ninth Regiment, and remained with it until the close of the war. While he was in the army of the West, he served under General Buel, General Rosecrans, General George B., Thomas, and General W. T. Sherman. He was with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, and from there went on the march through Georgia to the sea, to Savannah. After its subsequent marching, he went on to Louisville with his regiment, and was honorably discharged. Mr. Schaffer was in all the Western engagements, and was never exempted from duty, but was always ready. When he first went out he was private under Captain William Patton. He was promoted to corporal within the first six months, and went through the regular promotions until he became the captain of Company G, Sixtyninth Ohio.

When he came back from the army he went in partnership with Charles Latterner. He was elected secretary of the German Building and Saving Association eight years. He was elected town treasurer in April, 1876, and still holds the office. He now conducts a barber-shop. He was married in Middletown, October 4, 1861, to Eliza Merriman, who was born in Liscuel, Ireland, July 25, 1844, and is the daughter of Stephen Merriman and Elizabeth Regan. Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer have nine children. Jacob Schaffer was born June 20, 1862; William T. 8., April 18, 1866; Ulysses G., December 2, 1867; George F., August 2, 1869; Joseph H.., February 20, 1871; Anna, March 26, 1873; Harry, July 28, 1875; Daniel, May 6, 1877; and Mamie, July 26, 1879. Jacob Schaffer, the father of Mr. Schaffer, is still living, in Germany, but his mother, Elizabeth Knapp, died November 5, 1877. Mrs. Schaffer's parents are dead.

John R. Shafor, a prominent stock breeder of Middletown, Ohio, was born in Lemon Township, Butler County, Ohio, December 6, 1817, and was the fourth child and first son born to William and Jane Shafor. 'He remained on his father's farm until he had reached the age of nineteen, when he went to work in a sash- factory carried on at the mouth of Dick's Creek, by Mr. Isaac Gardner. He remained in this occupation three - years, at the end of which time he engaged to work a neighboring farm on shares. The product of the first season was principally corn, which did not sell at a remunerative price. This so discouraged the young farmer that he. gave up agricultural pursuits and engaged in merchandising in Amanda. After two years of unprofitable business, he sold his small stock of goods at a sacrifice, and engaged to work on an uncle's farm at ten dollars per month. This was during the Summer season of 1843.

On the 6th of December of the same year, having just reached his twenty-sixth birthday, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Davis, daughter of Vincent and Anna Davis, who resided on a farm near Hamilton. Nothing daunted with his past struggle, he went to work in the pork-house of F. J. Tytus at nine dollars per month, including his board.

The following Spring Mr. Shafor moved to the farm of Mr. P. W. Shepherd in Liberty Township, where he remained one year working the farm on shares. At the end of this time he removed to the farm formerly occupied by John Mulford, five miles south of Middletown, where he remained one year, and at the expiration of this time found himself in possession of the neat sum of four hundred dollars. With this amount he purchased a farm of fifty acres near Princeton, seven miles northeast of Hamilton. For this farm he agreed to pay one thousand dollars - four hundred dollars down, and the remainder in two installments, covering a space of three years. He remained on this farm one year longer, during which time land advanced in price, and at the expiration of this time he sold his farm for thirty-six dollars per acre. Returning to Amanda with two thousand dollars in cash, he purchased one hundred acres of fine land from John Dickey, agreeing to pay him four thousand one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the same. Making his first payment, three hundred dollars, he gave his notes for the remainder, and on the 1st of January, 1850, received the deed for the farm, and took possession of the same. During the following Summer Mr. Shafor erected a comfortable dwelling, and in October of the same year he moved his family, consisting of his wife and a little four-year-old daughter, to their new home. She and the infant child died April 29, 1851.

On the 15th day of December, 1852, he was again married, to Miss Rebecca B. Vail, daughter of Randall and Maria Vail, of Madison Township, near charge of his farm, having rented it previously, from the death of his first wife, to a family with whom he boarded. As a result of this union four children were born to them, all of whom died. By the death of his family Mr. Shafor became again discouraged, and for the space of two years there was a cessation from business cares, dur- ing which time he sold out his implements and rented his farm. However, in 1859, he again commenced operations in the grain and stock business, in partnership with S. V. Curtis at Amanda. They followed this business during the war, and were very successful. Being at the age that would make him subject to the draft at the commencement of the rebellion, he stood his chances until June 24, 1864, when he became exempt by law from doing military service. But to show his patriotic spirit and love for his country he furnished a recruit at his own expense, who fought in his stead until peace was declared.

In 1866 Mr. Shafor built what is known as the Shafor Block in Middletown, and in May, 1872, removed his family to that city. In that year he began dealing in fresh and cured meats, in partnership with F. M. Kemp, with whom he is now associated and doing a thriving business. Mr. Shafor is one of the charter members of the First National Bank of Middletown, and assisted in its organization. - He was one of its largest stockholders for a number of years, and also a director, and for one year its vice-president. Mr. Shafor has been foremost in all good works, and for the space of about forty years has been a member of the First Baptist Church of Middletown. An enterprise worthy of special notice is that of breeding fine sheep, for which Mr. Shafor has few superiors and a wide reputation. In 1879 he imported from Oxfordshire, England, a few of the celebrated Oxfordshire down sheep, which proved so satisfactory that he was induced, in the Fall of 1880, to make another importation, making his selections from the noted flocks of Adams, Fox, Treadwell and Gillett, who have the largest reputation of any stock-breeders- in England. Mr. Shafor's stock farm is situated on Dick's Creek, and consists of three hundred acres. It is conducted by his nephew, W. A. Shafor, under the firm name of J. R. and W. A. Shafor, and is well adapted in every respect for this purpose. Dick's Creek runs through the entire farm, affording plenty of good, clear water for the use of his stock.

Mr. Shafor is one of the most prominent citizens of Middletown. His career throughout has been one worthy of emulation, and shows plainly what can be accom- _ plished by industry, good judgment, and a straightforward course. Mr. Shafor is a gentleman of fine social qualities, and has a very genial and affable disposition. From a poor farmer boy he has carved his way through adverse circumstances to a position of distinction and affluence, and stands high in the community as a man of sterling qualities. In all his business relations he shows an equitable spirit, and toward all public improvements he manifests a deep interest, and contributes liberally of his means for their support.

Francis J. Tytus, president of the Tytus Paper Company, and for fifty-five years a resident of Middletown, was born in Hampshire County, Virginia, about twenty miles west of Winchester, February 6, 1806, and con- tinued on the farm of his father until he was fourteen years old, when he entéred the store of Robert Sheward, in the same neighborhood, with whom he remained four years. Then having reached the age of eighteen years, he went to Winchester, Virginia, and entered the store of Thomas Phillips & Co., in whose employment he remained until May, 1827, when he removed to Ohio, and settled in Middletown, then a small village of a few hundred inhabitants. Mr. Tytus engaged as a clerk with and four years later married his daughter Sarah, who died in 1840. In 1832 Mr. Martin also died, and Mr. Tytus, in partnership with George L. Wrenn, purchased the stock of goods formerly owned by his employer, and under the firm name of Tytus & Wrenn conducted the business until 1849. In 1836 he engaged in the porkpacking business, in connection with which he was favorably known for the space of twenty-four years. In 1854 he associated himself with Oglesby & Barnitz, and purchased two mills, one engaged in the manufacture of white paper, and the other produced brown wrapping paper, erected by John W. Erwin & Brother. Mr. Tytus held an interest in these mills until March, 1882, during which time the buildings were greatly enlarged and improved. In 1873 he purchased another mill, and the same year the corporation of the Tytus Paper Company was formed, and Mr. Tytus owning three-quarters of the stock, was made its president. This corporation is composed of the following gentlemen: F. J. Tytus, president; C. Gardner, vice-president; J. B. Tytus, secretary ; and W. B. Oglesby, treasurer. The business of the mill amounts to over half a million of dollars annually, and turns out twenty thousand pounds of manilla paper every twenty-four hours.

Mr. Tytus is one of the most substantial and influential members of the Baptist Church of Middletown, with which he became associated in 1828, and has been frequently sent as a delegate to the Baptist conventions, and has been prominent in all Church matters. Not only has Mr. Tytus been prominent in religious affairs, but in every good cause and work. He has been active in enhancing the material growth of his adopted city, and has contributed liberally of his means toward the building of turnpikes, public school buildings, churches, and all improvements of the place. In personal aeaee he isa fine specimen of physical manhood, being about six feet in height, of noble presence, weighing about two hundred pounds, and in general make-up bears a striking resemblance to General George Washington.

Mr. Tytus was married to Miss Sarah Butler in 1842. By this lady he has had a family of four children, the oldest of which, E. J. Tytus, died in 1880. Those who survive are John B. Tytus, associated with his father in business as secretary of the Tytus Paper Company; Lizzie P., the wife of C. Gardner, vice-president of the above company; and Kmma J. Monjeau, whose husband is vice- president and agent of the Red Cliff Silver Mining Company of Colorado, with-office and head-quarters in Topeka, Kansas. Formerly he was a clergyman in good standing of the Baptist denomination, but health failing he was compelled to relinquish his position.

Mr. F. J. Tytus is now in his seventy-seventh year, and is a remarkably well-preserved man. He is found almost every day in his office attending to the duties devolving upon him as president of the Tytus Paper Company, and is quite extensively known as '"' the great paper manufacturer." Mr. Tytus has a fine reputation as a business man, and his career in Middletown stands above reproach. In 1848 he purchased a beautiful farm in the suburbs of the city, on which he erected a handsome and commodious residence, where he now resides, surrounded by every evidence of refinement and afHuence.

Daniel Brown Vail was born September 6, 1853, in Madison Township. He is a sign and ornamental painter. His parents were William W. Vail and Lucinda Brown, both natives of this county. He was married October 29, 1879, to Minnie R. Olden, daughter of David Olden and Celia Folk. -She was born in Greenville, Darke County, February 13, 1858. To this union one child, Blanche E., was born December 26, 1880. In 1872 he went to Buffalo to learn a trade in the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad shops, where he stayed until the Spring of 1878, when he came back to Middletown, going into business for himself. He also makes excellent portraits.

Hugh P. Vail was born in Middletown September 17, 1843. His parents, Hugh Vail and Jane Porter, came here in 1800. At the age of. sixteen he went to farming, continuing at this till he was thirty years old, when he went to teaming. He now constantly employs three teams. He was married December 7, 1871, in Warren County, to Alice R. Crane, who was born in that county May 14, 1851. Her parents were Samuel R. Crane and Ellen Jane Dearth.

William Webster was born in Liberty Township on the 2d of May, 1811, and is the son of William Webter and Mary Marsh, who came to this county from New Jersey in 1806. Mr. Webster was early in life engaged in the hardware business in Hamilton, in conjunction with his brother, Joseph Webster, but for the last forty years has been a resident of Middletown. He has been twice married. His first wife was Maria J. Kennedy, and he was married to her October 5, 1837. Her father's name was Joel Kennedy, and her mother's Esther Moorehouse. By her he had eight children. Albert Webster was born September 26, 1838, and died on the 5th of December, 1851; Mary was born April 12, 1840, and died February 7, 1841; Joel K. was. born May 29, 1843, and now lives in Kentucky; Laura J. Ford was born December 3, 1845, and lives in Texas; Charles was born November 30, 1848, and died June 27, 1868; Florence Nunnelly was born July 29, 1852, and lives in

Galveston, Texas; Thomas was born August 15, 1854, and William E. was born October 2, 1856. In a second marriage Mr. Webster was united to Charlotte E. Hook on the 6th of August, 1869, who has one child, Stanley, born September 30, 1876.

George P. Webster, the nephew of Mr. Webster, served during the whole of the Mexican War. He also was in the War of the Rebellion, being shot at the battle of Mill Springs. His rank was that of colonel, but he was in command of the brigade at that time. Mr. Webster is now engaged in the manufacture of paper bags, inventing the machinery himself, and employing sixty or seventy employees, mostly girls. The factory was built in 1873, but was destroyed by fire on the 6th of November, 1880. This was Saturday night, but by a week from Tuesday it was again in motion as before, new quarters having been temporarily found.

Charles M. Williams, teacher, was born in Jo Daviess County, Ill., October 11, 1856. His father is William N. Williams and his mother Elizabeth J. Williams. His grandfather, David Lloyd, was a private soldier un-" der General Taylor in' the Mexican War. An unele, William Lloyd, orderly sergeant of a company in the Guthrie Grays, died of typhoid fever at Bowling Green, Ky., in 1862. James M. Lloyd, another uncle, served three years in the Seventy-fifth Ohio, being in seventeen set battles. Charles M. Williams lived in Mlinois until he was six years old, when he was removed to Warren County in this State, then being on a farm until 1875, when on the 26th of October, 1875, he came to Middletown, where he was for seven years engaged in teaching school. He also teaches elocution, and has been very successful as a public reader. He was married on the 25th of November, 1880, to Louisa Hinkle, daughter of Benjamin and Nancy Hinkle. They are natives of this county, and she was born here September 10, 1862.

Allen Smith Wrenn, paper manufacturer, was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, March 6, 1815. His parents, who lived and died in Virginia, were Thomas Wrenn and Catherine Brent.. He was married in 1845, in Middletown, to Parthenia Taylor, daughter of Dayid Taylor and Joanna Enyart, who are both dead. Mrs. Wrenn was born in Middletown March 22, 1823, and they have had five children, Thomas A., Edward, Mary, Charles L., and Kate B.

Joseph Wickoff was born in New Jersey, on the 12th of December, 1802, coming to this county in 1821. His parents were Samuel Wickoff and Vesta Irton. Mr. Wickoff was married on the 8th of November, 1838, to Eleanor Barklow, daughter of Tobias Barklow and Elizabeth Jeems, who came to Butler in 1806. They have had six children - Vashti, Rebecca, Tobias, Henry, Sarah, and Joseph. Rebecca and Henry are deceased. The latter was in the army, but he was never heard of afterwards, and it is supposed he is dead. Tobias Wickoff was in the hundred-days' service.

Uzel Clark (deceased) came with his father, Jacob Clark, to Ohio in 1806, and in the Fall of 1807 settled on a farm near Monroe. His father married Miss Sarah Beach, and raised three children: Mrs. Mary Mulford, Mrs. Esther Kyle, and Uzel Clark. Mary married John Mulford about the time of the War of 1812, who was the father of David, Jacob, and Job Mulford, the well-known citizens of Butler County. David Mulford now lives in the north part of the State. Esther Clark was the first wife of James Kyle. She died full fifty years ago, and her children are all dead but Mrs. Wyle, of Jericho. Uzel married Margaret Sampson. She died in 1834. He became the father of three children - Eliza, David Parkhurst, and Sarah Jane. All are dead now but Eliza. Uzel Clark was born May 24, 1803, and died March 1, 1882. He lost his father when fourteen years of age, and thus, when a boy, was initiated into the hardships of pioneer life, and without paternal support. He always lived on the farm near Monroe Station, a part of which he sold to the Cincinnati and Springfield Railroad Company, now Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad Company, for their depot grounds. Mr. Thomas Beach, his maternal grandfather, was one of the minute-men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War.

Cephas C. Fetherling was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, September 26, 1837, in which, and in adjoining counties, he spent his early life. His parents were poor, and Mr. Fetherling educated himself. At nineteen years of age he took charge of a district school in Twin Township, Preble County, and taught in that and other places five years. On the 24th of August, 1862, he joined Company H, Ninety-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Anderson, and left for Kentucky, the*regiment joining Mason's and Nelson's troops as re-enforcements, but retreating to Louisville. He was disabled by sickness from doing duty, but kept with his regiment until the battle of Perryville, when he was taken prisoner by Kirby Smith, and immediately exchanged, but on account of sickness did not join his regiment until 1863. He was assigned to an invalid corps, and sent back to the Northern States, where he did duty, and was honorably discharged July 7, 1865. He enlisted as a private, and attained the rank of commissary sergeant when discharged. He subsequently taught school eight years, but in March, 1873, went into the boot and shoe business, and also carried a line of groceries in Winchester, Preble County. In December, 1880, he came to Middletown, where he has done a business the first year of $21,000, and this year of $35,000 in the hardware trade. .

His father, Jacob Fetherling, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1805. He lost his parents when young, and he thereafter shifted for himself. He married Permelia Luellen November, 1829, and came to Ohio. She died October 29, 1864, and he moved to Ilinois, then Missouri, and is now engaged in farming in Arkansas, in Boone County, on a spur of the Pea Ridge Mountains. His daughter, Eliza, is with him. Mr. Cephas Fetherling married Miss Sarah C. Hollinger June 27, 1867, daughter of Monroe and Rebecca Hollinger, old settlers of Preble County. Her maternal grandfather, Joseph Singer, received the first marriage certificate on record in Preble County. He settled in Harrison Township, that county, in 1800. After Mr. Fetherling's marriage he taught school six years. He has one brother, George H., who was in the army with him, and who is now in Iroquois County, Illinois, farming.

Simon Goldman, dry-goods merchant of Middletown, was born May 12, 1831, in the village of Zeil, Germany. His parents, Max and Jetta Goldman, were both natives of the same place. Simon Goldman was given a common school education, and at the age of sixteen, unaccompanied by any relatives, came to America. He located first in Cincinnati, September, 1847, among a few relatives and acquaintances, and set about finding employment. With what little money he had he bought a few goods and started out in the country selling them. Five years, or until 1852, were spent in this occupation. The proceeds of this period of industrious labor were sufficient to enable him to open a store in Middletown, which he did March 1, 1852, in company with Mr. Joseph Buchman. <A stock of dry goods and clothing was purchased, aud for one and a half years a prosperous business was carried on. At the end of that time Mr. Goldman bought out the interest of Mr. Buchman, and carried on the establishment alone until the Spring of 1856. At that time he sold out and went to Madison, Wisconsin, there engaging in the same trade. He returned to Middletown in about six months, and opened a: store on Third Street, which he conducted till 1858. In the meantime he built the store on Main Street which he has since occupied.

Mr. Goldman was one of the organizers and charter stockholders of the First National Bank of Middletown, and has been one of its directors for the past twelve years. From 1880 to 1882 he was cashier of the bank, a position he was compelled to resign, in consequence of his other business. He is also a stockholder in the Middletown Gas Company, which he was instrumental in organizing. He has been a Mason since 1852, and a Knight of Honor also.

On the 10th of September, 1857, Mr. Goldman was married to Miss Susan Trine, of Middletown, whose parents died while Susan was still a child. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Goldman, all living, Harry H., born March 19, 1859, is now engaged in the store; Joseph R. was born December 12, 1861; Charles T, was born June 26, 1863; Jetta was born November 25, 1865; Emma was born November 8, 1867; and Bertha was born August 31, 1875.

Jacoby - one of the prominent settlers of the township - and a brother to J. B. Jacoby, the merchant and grain dealer of Amanda. He is a young, enterprising farmer, in the thirtieth year of his age, and owns a fraction over one hundred-and eighty-four acres of one of the best farms in the county. His land is under a high state of cultivation, and the best of buildings are on the place. He was married to Miss Susie Zeigler in 1879.

Edward Kimball, M. D., a retired physician of Monroe, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, November 17, 1810. When six years of age, to the day, his father, with his family, arrived in Cincinnati, where he received his education, graduating from the medical department of the Cincinnati College of Medicine, in 1834. In 1858 he removed to Blue Ball, where he practiced his profession until 1848, when he retired from active life. In 1860 he erected his fine brick residence in the town of Monroe. Since this time the doctor has held the position of magistrate two terms, and is 'at present notary public. In 1840 he married Miss Mary Jane Stewart, the only living representative of the pioneer James Stewart, who was killed by the falling of a tree in 1835. Mr. Stewart was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church, and while going to Cincinnati in a two-horse wagon on the Dayton road, two miles south of Monroe, an old tree fell while he was passing, and killed himself, wife, and another lady who was sitting on the same seat. He died May 4, 1835, being then sixty-one years old.

Adam Longstreet was born in this county December 4, 1838. He is the son of Aaron Longstreet and Mary Gallagher. He was married on the Ist of October, 1861, to Mary J. Bailey, daughter of William Bailey and Eliza Ann Maginety, and has had by her four children. Ella was born January 16, 1863; Dora, June 28, 1864; W. B., February 9, 1872; and Mary, May 7, 1875. He is a farmer and stock-raiser.

P. P. La Tourrette was born October 8, 1817, in Somerset County, New Jersey. His parents, Peter La Tourrette and Mary Nitzer, died, the one in January, 1854, and the other in January, 1850. They came out here in April, 1839. His great-uncle, Daniel La Tourrette, passed all through the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, and was about one hundred years old when he died. Peter La Tourrette was a major in 1812. When in the service he had an altercation with a superior officer respecting the treatment of the men. La Tourrette treated them with the utmost kindness; the other officer, on the contrary, treated them with severity. The colonel, in the end, determined to arrest Major La Tourrette, and demanded his sword from him, which he refused, saying it could not be had, except point foremost. Recognizing the resolute man he had to deal with, the colonel desisted. Mr. P. P. La Tourrette once owned a portable saw-mill, and was engaged in He also He first became connected with the Middletown Agricultural Works as secretary, and in 1873 he and John Harrison leased the works, soon after deeming it advisable to abandon the manufacturing of agricultural implements, and gradually changing its character to what it is at present. They now manufacture paper and tobacco machinery, wooden pumps, and have a brass foundry. The death of Mr. Harrison, February, 1875, left Mr. La Tourrette the sole manager and proprietor. On the Ist of January, 1881, C. F. Gunckel, who had previously had one-fourth interest in the real estate and machinery, purchased a quarter interest in the business.

Mr. La Tourrette has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church for nearly thirty years, and has been a member of the Church for over forty years. His wife and two daughters are also members. He was a mem-~ ber of the board of education for about nine years, being secretary for the whole time. He was a member when the large new school building was erected, and has always taken a warm interest in educational affairs. He has been twice married. His first wife was Magdalen Monfort, married April 19, 1842, died January 2, 1847, and his second wife, Elizabeth Monfort, married April 9, 1849, second cousin to first wife. John Monfort, father of his first wife, was a pioneer of Warren County, settling there in 1798. His wife's name was Mary Monfort; his second wife's parents were Peter and Elizabeth Monfort, who died in Pennsylvania. He had no children by his first wife. Mr. La Tourrette has had six children by his last wife: Maggie was born February 9, 1850; Mary J., February 20, 1852; Lizzie J., March 27, 1854; David M., March 26, 1856; John M., July 2, 1861, a graduate of Cincinnati Law School in 1882; and William S., May 9, 1864. Lizzie J. died, March 29, 1866. Mr. La Tourrette is a Royal Arch Mason, and has been a Mason since 1848. He was deputy provost marshal during the war.

Robert Maginety, of Georgetown, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1819. His father was a blacksmith, with whom Mr. Maginety remained until he learned his trade. When twenty-five years of age he came to Amanda, arriving there in June, 1844. He married Miss Lydia A. Ruch, on the 15th of March, 1846. Her father came here in 1841 from York County, Pennsylvania, and settled first in Preble County, and subsequently two and a half miles east of Amanda, and died in a year after coming to this place. Mr. Maginety performed journey work for many years in Amanda, but sold out there in 1864, and went to Darke County, Ohio, where he remained four years, and in 1871 came to this place, in Lemon Township. He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1848, and has been a prominent member and leader in that society since that time. He is in possession of a good line of custom work, and has a good, comtortable home.

1832. He is the son of Ludwig Miller and Mary Anne Miller. The father lives in Dayton, but the mother died in Germany. Michael C. Miller was married in 1861, at Dayton, to Martha Neff, who was born in Ohio in 1835, and whose parents were George Neff and Lida Sylvis. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had ten children. Fanny J. was born October 2, 1861; Charles L., March 17, 1863; Walter, deceased, April 5, 1865; Katie May, December 22, 1867; Howard W., March 23, 1869; Ida B., December 3, 1871; Daisy, December 11, 1873; Dorothea, September 2, 1875; Louis, March 5, 1877; and Michael, December 4, 1878.

Charles Lyman Prugh, of the firm of C. C. Fetherling & Co., was born in Gratis Township, Preble County, March 1, 1857, but did not settle in this township until January 1, 1881, when he came to Middletown, since which time he has been engaged in the hardware business. He was raised on a farm, and remained at home until nineteen years of age, when he attended the Normal College of Danville, Indiana, taking from the institution a diploma, as a graduate of the scientific department, in the Spring of 1878. Following this he taught school . Seven months, and during the Winter of 1879 attended college at Oberlin six months, and on the first of the year

Hannah Peters, farmer, settled in this county in 1871. She was married in 1870. Her children are Mary 6., born November 28, 1872; James B., born August 31, 1874; Nancy 8., born January 8, 1876; and Jacob M., born February 15, 1880. She is the daughter of James Franks and Nancy Hewett, and was born in Harrison County, Kentucky. Her husband was in the late war. _ Andrew Wannenwetsch, M. D., deceased, was born in Germany, on the 26th of December, 1820. He received in his native country a good education, taking a full course in medicine and also in pharmacy. In 1863 he came to America, and after a short stay in Cincinnati, removed to Trenton, Madison Township, where he practiced his profession until 1872, when he removed to Middletown, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying on the 8th of April, 1879. He was well skilled in the science of his chosen profession, and not only took charge of a large practice but was honored by the government in being appointed to the position of an assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in the service six months during the war. He married Anna Deuscher, daughter of Michael Deuscher and Christina Scheurer, who came to America in 1832. They remained four years in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where Miss Anna Deuscher was born May 38, 1886, after which they came to Butler County, where Mr. Deuscher died - in 1844. Mrs. Deuscher is now past eighty-one years of age. Mrs. Wannenwetsch is a sister to the.well-known Captain H. P. Deuscher, of Hamilton.

Elias Webb, of Middletown, is a native of Butler County, and was born near Poasttown, February 18, 1818. His parents came to this place in 1820, and Mr. Webb has since that time resided in the place. He was formerly proprietor of a line of boats on the canal, and for twenty-five years was very successful in business. In 1857 he began the lumber business, and for several years followed that pursuit. He now owns considerable land, and is a retired farmer. He was married to Miss Abby Brashear in 1858. His maternal grandmother was Phoebe Eno

Source changes here: from Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, by Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and Others, published 1905; 599 words in this source stream.

Lemon Township

Beginning on the west bank of the Great Miami, at the southwest corner of fractional township No. 1 in the fourth range west of the Miami; thence north to the northern boundary of the county ; thence east with the northern boundary line of the county to the northeast comer thereof; thence southwestwardly and south with the eastern boundary of the county to the southeast corner of section No. 11, township 3, in the third entire range; thence west to the Miami; thence south westwardly down the Miami to the beginning. Two justices.

Beginning on the west bank of the Miami at the southwest corner of the fractional township No. 1 of the fourth range west of the Miami; thence north to the northern boundary of the county; thence west to the northwest corner of the county ; thence south to the southwest corner of the township No. 4 of the first range west of the Miami; thence east to the Miami ; thence northeasterly and northwestwardly up the Miami to the place of beginning. Two justices.

Centennial History Of

and north of Liberty township, retained the name of Lemon township. The township, as thus constituted, is irregular in contour, owing to the diagonal direction of the Miami fiver, but its roads and farms are regularly laid out, and the country in general is under the highest state of cultivation and improvement. It has not only good roads, but the advantages of the river, the canal, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, and the Cincinnati, Dayton & Toledo Electric Traction Road, which pass through the township. The principal stream of the interior of the township is Dick's creek. In former times it was highly important for the water power it furnished to the little saw mills, grist mills and the occasional distillery erected on its banks. The population of Lemon township exclusive of that of Middletown, according to the census of 1900, is 1,825, a l°ss of 9°6 from that of the census of 1890. Middletown city, however, more than makes up for this loss. Her population in 1890 was 7,681, and in 1900 was 9,215, a gain of 1,534 in the city, and a net gain in the township of 628 in ten years.

Among the early settlers of Lemon township were the Dotys, Enochs, Irwins, Shafors, Dicks, Freemans, Reeds, Balls, Stewarts, Taylors, Hughes, Wards, Clarks, Vails, Potters, Johnstons, Williamsons, Fishers and Logans. Of these Thomas Irwin and David Logan came as early as 1795, Joseph Williamson and Alexander McConnell in 1796, and Daniel Doty, John Reed, Stephen Vail, Moses Potter and others came before 1800.

both sides of the Miami river, more than a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, the north end coming up to the present site of Middletown. Symmes' northern line passes through Lemon township just south of Dick's creek, and is two and a quarter miles north of the Liberty township line.

The earliest church in this township was the Little Prairie church, of the Baptist denomination Its exact site is now unknown. There is a discrepancy in the date of the admission of this church. Judge Dunlevy makes it 1800, and the minutes of the Old School Baptist Association places it in 1801. In the latter year, according to the minutes, it had eleven members. The pastor was Elder Philip Sutton. In 1805 some differences arose between this church and Elk Creek church, now at Trenton, which the association could not settle, and it is probable that the church disbanded, as no further notice is given it in the minutes.