USA > Ohio > Darke County > A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography > Part 67
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Devault Coppess was born in North Carolina January 25. 1795, and his death occurred in 1870. When he was a mere lad his parents emigrated from their southern home to the wilds of Greene county, Ohio. locating near the present city of Xenia, where they remained until he was a young man of about twenty-two years, when the family removed to Darke county, this sec-
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tion of the state having at the time more Indian inhabitants than white settlers. The father of our subject purchased from the government a tract of land in Richland town- ship, and the original deed is still in the possession of the Coppess family. Our sub- ject has in his keeping a deed of one-quarter of a section of land (section 9, Richland township, then known as township 10), exe- cuted September 20, 1825, and signed by President John Quincy Adams. The first habitation erected by Devault Coppess was the typical log cabin of the pioneer settler, the primitive edifice having been so fre- quently described as to render it unnecessary to give further details in this connection. Deer, bears and other wild game abounded. while the wolves menaced the live stock of the settlers and made the night resound with their uncanny howls. The father of our subject helped to build the first church and the first school house in the township, and was known as a leader among the early set- tlers, being a man of strong mentality and sterling integrity. In politics he was a stanch Jacksonian Democrat, ever loyal to the principles of his party. His death oc- curred in 1870, and he passed to his reward in the fullness of years and good works.
The mother of John S. Coppess was born ini Montgomery county. this state. January 29, 1799, and her death occurred in May. 1874. She and her husband were kind and benevolent people, full of sympathy for the afflicted and ever ready to extend tangible aid to those in need or distress. They are at rest in the Coppess cemetery, located on the farm of our subject, and there beautiful monuments stand sacred to the memory of these noble pioneers. It may well be stated at this point that our subject has in his keeping the family records, which were
written by one of his old teachers, who utilized a quill pen and wrote in the fine copper plate hand so much in vogue a half- century or more since.
John S. Coppess has been reared and ed- ucated in this his native county, and his life has been an honor to an honored name and to the county as well. Having a natural predilection for mechanical pursuits he be- came a carpenter and joiner by trade and 1 worked at the same for a number of years, though the greater part of his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, to which he was reared. He received his education in the common schools and can well recall the fact that his first school days were passed lin one of the typical log school houses so often described in this and numberless other publications. His first teacher was named John Curtis, while Mrs. Coppess' rudi- mentary instruction was received from one Washington McKee. Our subject was able to attend school from ten to thirty days in the year, and this minute scholastic dis- cipline was as much as the average boy of the place and period received, for their serv- ices were in constant requisition in the work of clearing and improving the pioneer farms. Mr. Coppess is endowed with an alert and vigorous mentality, however, and has made good use of the "spare moments" in his life, so that he is a well informed man and has broadened his intellectuality to the utmost through personal application and the reading of good literature. He remained with his parents until he had attained his majority, and by hard work and economy had saved three hundred dollars, having earned this amount by splitting rails at thirty-five cents per hundred and doing other work at the rate of fifty cents a day.
Mr. Coppess has been thrice married, his
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first union having been with Miss Susannah Studabaker, who bore him a son and daugh- ter, both of whom are deceased. For his second wife he chose Miss Rebecca Ilitts, to whom he was married December 13, 1857, and four sons and three daughters blessed this union, while four are yet living. Henry, who is a resident of Stelvidio, is a prosperous and active business man. hav- ing become associated with his father in the grain business about the year 1890. He owns one-half interest in the enterprise con- clucted by his father and himself. He was reared on the farm and educated in the com- mon schools; in politics he is a Democrat. He married Miss Lucy Bowman and they have a pleasant and attractive home. Ilar- mon C., a successful farmer of Brown town- ship is married and has three children; Val- landingham is engaged in agricultural pur- suits in Randolph county, Indiana, and is also a very successful breeder of live stock. Ida became the wife of Milton Boyer and they reside on the homestead of her father and have five children. The mother of the above was summoned into eternal rest in 1873. She was a model wife and mother and her loss was deeply mourned by a wide circle of admiring friends.
On the 12th of October, 1873, Mr. Cop- pess wedded Mrs. Mahala ( Brewer ) Smith, widow of Alvin Smith. to whom she bore one SO11. She was born in Richland township. on Christmas day. 1829, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Coppess) Brewer, who were the parents of ten children, only one of whom is deceased. Mrs. Coppess and her husband were classmates in the old pioneer school and were reared in the same township, her par- ents having been pioneers of the township. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in North Carolina. Andrew Smith,
the son of Mrs. Coppess by her first marriage, is a prosperous young farmer of Adams township. He married Miss Etta Rynard and they have six children.
Our subject's first purchase of land was in Brown townshipand comprised forty acres partially improved, his finances rendering it necessary to assume an indebtedness for a part of the purchase price. At the expiration of two years he sold this place and purchased seventy-five acres on section 6 Richland township, subsequently adding fifteen acres to the farm, and here he remained a number of years. In 1861 he purchased forty acres more and paid for it, and finally traded nine- ty acres for the ninety acres which was the nucleus of his present estate, to which addi- tions have been made until its area is one hundred and eighty-eight acres. in Brown and Richland townships. He has an attrac- tive and commodious brick residence and ex- cellent outbuildings, and all these permanent improvements were made by him. The en- tire estate is free from financial incumbrance, and as one of the fine places of the county is a credit to its owner, who has achieved a worthy success through his own efforts. He has been fair and upright in all his dealings and enjoys the confidence and high regard of all who know him, being classed among the representative citizens of the county. In 1899 he removed from his farm to the pleas- ant village of Stelvideo, where he has since maintained his home, having partially retired from active work, though maintaining a per- sonal supervision of his various interests. He is a gentleman of seventy years, and has been an eye witness of the development of Darke county from a sylvan wilderness to its pres- ent status as one of the most attractive and opulent sections of the Buckeye state. As a boy he remembers the present thriving city
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of Greenville as a mere hamlet, with five or six stores or shops, while not a railroad or turnpike then traversed the county. To- day fine roads, excellent railroad facilities, ' prosperous and beautiful villages, fine farms, the best of schools and other evidence of modern progress are to be seen on every hand, and the result must seem indeed mar- velous to the memory which can link the present to the pioneer days.
Mr. Coppess is a stanch supporter of the Democratic principles and policies, having cast his first vote for Franklin Pierce. His grandfather, Adam Coppess, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Officially our subject has been called upon to serve in positionsof public trust and responsibility, having been trustee of Richland township for ten or twelve years, and having been a member of the board of di- rectors of the county infirmary for three years. For many years he has been a director of the school district, taking advanced views in the matter of popular education, while in religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Coppess are zealous members of the Christian church at Stelvideo. He is interested in all Christian work being charitable in his vews, and has aided financially in the erection of six differ- ent churches in this part of the county. ITis life has been characterized by kindness and helpfulness, and in his declining years, as the shadows lengthen in the golden west, he rests secure in the esteem of all who know him. His estimable wife has been his coadjutor in all good works and they will both be held in lasting honor and given a prominent place in the true record of Darke county.
JOB M. SHAFER.
The sturdy pioneer of Ohio is the im- portant personage who should be accorded marked homage and credit. The pioneers
have blazed the way to civilization and have made the wilderness blossom as the rose. They came to the primeval forests of the Buckeye state in the early days and have felled the stately monarchs of the forest, cleared away the brush and broken the vir- gin soil. They have eventually erected the beautiful modern homes and developed the broad acres of waving grain while their efforts have brought to the state the vast network of railroads, which are always in the vanguard of progress. Darke county has been honored in the personnel of her pio- neers, and here the improvements have been of that advanced order that places the coun- ty among the foremost in the state. Here- are the finest of villages, the most carefully cultivated farmsteads, and the most excellent roads, over one thousand miles of stone turn- pike having graced the face of the county, affording facilities for intermediate trans- portation that can not be excelled. All these improvements are due to such men as he whose name initiates this review.
Mr. Shafer is a native of the picturesque Keystone state, having been born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, within six miles of Hancock, Maryland, the section being now known as Fulton county. He was born Sep- tember 4. 1830, being the third in order of birth of the two sons and three daughters of John and Dorothy ( Mann) Shafer, and being now the only survivor of the family. John Shafer, father of our subject, was a native of Pennsylvania, but resided in Vir- ginia about eight years. He was born July 17, 1802, and his death occurred January 4, 1882. He was reared to the vocation of a farmer, was industrious in his habits and was animated by the deepest integrity in all the relations of life and left the invaluable heritage of an honored name. The Shafer .:
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lineage is of pure German extraction. The father of our subject emigrated direct from Pennsylvania to Darke county, and the long journey. five hundred miles, was made by the family in a three-horse wagon, the ve- hicle being one provided with the long, scoop-shaped boxes so common in the early days. This trip was made across the wilds of Ohio, the smaller streams being forded. while the entire outfit was ferried across the Ohio river at Wheeling, whence the family continued their way to their destination in Richland township, this county. The first land located by Father Shafer was one hun- dred and sixty acres on section 27, and the subject of this review has the original deed of this land, the same having been executed April 12, 1819, over the signature of Presi- dent James Monroe. The deed is one of the oldest which the biographer has found in Darke county, and it is in an excellent state of preservation. The first habitation of the Shafer family was the primitive log cabin, the building being one and one-half stories in height, the old-fashioned fireplace, with huge brick chimney, supplying heat for the dwelling, whose roof was made of clap- boards. This modest little domicile stood on the site of the present attractive residence of our subject. The primeval forest sur- rounded the humble home, the family having settled on the banks of the Stillwater, while old Fort Briar stood about five hundred rods southwest of the present home of Mr. Shafer. He can remember some of the old palisades of the fort, which the settlers had erected as a refuge in times of Indian attacks. Mr. Shafer was a pioneer of pioneers. There was not a church building in Richland town- ship and only two or three log school houses when the family took up their abode there. The father was a stanch Democrat in politics
and was a great admirer of "Old Hickory." as General Andrew Jackson was known. He and his wife were members of the Chris- tian church, the latter having been born in the same locality as her husband. on the 20th of February. 1804, while her death oc- curred April II, 1865. Mr. Shafer, of this sketch, has one of the oldest family bibles in Darke county, there being entries dating as far back as 1761. thirty-eight years before the death of General Washington.
Job M. Shafer was but a lad of seven years when he became a resident of Darke county, and here he has been an honored citizen for the long period of sixty-two years. He began his education in the old-fashioned subscription schools, which were held in the primitive log school houses so familiar to the pioneers of this section and so frequently de- scribe 1 in this and other publications. The reminiscences of the early days are full of interest and as related by Mr. Shafer are sure to bring out the striking contrasts be- tween the pioneer epoch and the present era of progress and substantial prosperity. Mr. Shafer remained on the home place with his father until he had attained the age of fifty years, and these years were marked by peace and contentment.
In the meanwhile, on the 20th of March. 1851, he married Miss Elizabeth Brandon .. and three sons and three daughters were born to them, all being alive at the present time, namely : Dennis, who is a resident of Celina, Ohio, was formerly a school teacher, but is now a salesman having a wife and three children : Maggie A. is the wife of Cy- rus White, a farmer of Brown township. this county, and they have two children : John C., a farmer of Richland township. is married and has two children ; Allen W., who resides on the old homestead. is mar-
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ried and has two children,-Minnie and Job Ernest : Mary is the wife of E. H. Miller, formerly a teacher but now engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits, and they have two sons, - Webb B. and Dennis Raymond ; and Ber- tha is the wife of V. N. Fackler, the owner of the city laundry at Versailles, Ohio, and they have one son and one daughter.
Mr. and Mrs. Shafer gave their children excellent educational advantages, being fully appreciative of the value of such discipline. A matter well worthy of mention in connec- tion with the family is that the same now includes twenty-six individuals- our subject and his children and grandchildren,-and there has been but one death in the family from the time of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Shafer until March 31. 1900, when the good wife and mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Shafer, passed to the home beyond this life, her remains being laid to rest in Green Lawn cemetery at Versailles. This is certainly an exceptional record. Mrs. Shafer was born in Wayne township this county, on the 10th of October, 1831, being one of the thirteen children born to James R. and Anna ( Hole ) Brandon. Of this large family the only survivor at the present time is Mrs. Shafer's sister, Maria, now the widow of John Teeter. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer traveled life's journey together hand in hand and sharing alike the joys and the sorrows which come to all. for half a century. Their lives together were indeed golden in kindness, sympathy and good works.
Mr. Shafer can well remember the time when there was not a mile of railroad in Darke county, nor even a mile of pike road. He recalls the intense excitement which pre- vailed when the first railroad entered the city of Greenville, which was then but a small hamlet. Thither he used to go to mar-
ket on horseback, carrying a crock of butter in one end of a sack thrown across the sad- dle and balanced by a stone in the other end and with a basket of eggs on his arm, which produce was in due time borne over the six intervening miles to find sale or exchange in the little market town. All the modern im- provements which are now to be seen in the county have been made within the men- ory of our subject, and he has seen plenty of deer on his own premises, as well as wild turkeys and other game.
Mr. Shafer has always been a stanchi supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, having cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan. He has served for many years as trustee of his township, and also as justice of the peace, being deeply interested in all that concerns the welfare of the com- munity where he has lived and labored for so many years. He and his family are mem- bers of the Christian church at Beamsville and he was an important factor in securing the erection of the present attractive church edifice. He has aided financially in the build- ing of nine different churches .- a fact that attests his liberality and his interest in all that makes for the betterment of his fellow men. Mr. Shafer is one of the honored pio- neers of the county and his long identifica- tion with the history of this section entitles him to specific mention in this work, while his life has been one of such signal worthi- ness and so devoted to all that represents the deeper and truer values, that this record cannot but offer both lesson and incentive, even when the genial shadows lengthen in the west to indicate the declining of the sun of the pioneer's life. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer were favored in retaining their family circle unbroken until the sad event of March 31. 1900, occurred, already mentioned.
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WILLIAM RUNKLE.
It is seldom that men who lack spirit attain to positions of public trust, for the public is a discriminating factor and its judgment is usually accurate, and therefore when one gains the confidence of his fellow men and is honored with public office it is an indication that he is worthy of the trust reposed in him. Such is certainly the case with William Runkle, who is now servin - as the sheriff of Darke county. The law- abiding citizens regard him as a bulwark of safety, and those who are not amenable to the rules which govern society have reason to regard him with fear.
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He was born in Harrison township. Darke county, August 28, 1858, upon his father's farm, and is the eldest son of Jerry and Isabella ( Hindsley) Runkle. His fa- ther, who is still living, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 15th of August, 1835, and during his early bovhood came with his parents to Darke county, where he was left an orphan at the age of nine years. He was then bound out to work on a farm, forced to begin the battle of life unaided at that tender age. He lived in Butler township from 1844 until 1855, at which time, with the capital which he had acquired through his own well directed efforts, his enterprise and economy, he purchased a farm of forty acres in Harrison township, upon which he located and made his home until January I. 1880, when he removed to Greenville. In the spring of 1879 he had received the 11011- ination for sheriff upon the Democratic ticket and was elected in October of that year by a majority of six hundred and sev- enty-five. He then removed to the city in order to be more closely in touch with the seat of justice, an l filled the office in an ac- ceptable manner. In 1857 he was married
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to Miss Isabella Hindsley, a daughter of W. H. and Anna (Butt) Hindsley, pioneer settlers of Darke county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Runkle occurred in Harrison township and has been blessed with four children : William, Joseph E., Frances and Edith I. The father is now serving as dep- uty sheriff.
William Runkle, whose name introduces this review, was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads and was sent to the district school for three months during the winter season. Throughout the remainder of the year he assisted his father in the cultivation of the fields and meadows and in the other work of farm improvements. When his father was elected sheriff William Runkle was appointed his deputy and served accept- ably in that capacity for four years. Later he filled the position of deputy sheriff under John Welker and at the close of his term he joined his father, who was engaged in the construction and repairing of pikes in Mercer and Darke counties. They followed that business for two years, after which Mr. Runkle, of this review, engaged in baling hay and straw in connection with farming. following that pursuit until 1897. when he was nominated by the Democracy for the office of sheriff of Darke county. The elec- tion returns showed that he was the success- ful candidate and he took charge of the office on the Ist of January, 1898. In the fall of 1899 he was re-elected, his term expiring in 1901, at which time he will have filled the position for four years in addition to six years' service as deputy. He has been a competent officer, against whom no com- plaint has been made, and throughout the community in which he resides he is hield in high regard for his fidelity as a citizen and his worth as a man.
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E. W. OTWELL.
E. W. Otwell is the editor and proprietor of the Greenville Journal and has gained prestige as a leading representative of the newspaper interests of western Ohio. For forty years he has been connected with this paper and has placed it upon a par with the best journals published in this section of the country. Probably no man in all the com- munity exerts a greater influence on public thought and opinion than the wide-awake journalist whose paper finds its way into many homes, carrying his views upon mat- ters of public importance to its many readers, his forceful, logical and convincing writings becoming a potent element in gaining sup- port for the measures which he advocates, or in augmenting opposition to those to which he does not give his sanction. It is a widely recognized fact that Mr. Otwell has through the columns of his paper done much for the progress and development of Darke county and his life record has thus become an integral part of the history of this com- munity.
A native of North Carolina, he was born in 1831, and the following year was taken by his parents to Richmond, Indiana. Re- maining there a short time, they went to Williamsburg, Wayne county, Indiana, where they remained eight years, and in 1840 came to Darke county, locating at a small place which was afterward called Otwell's Mills. There the father. Curtis Otwell. operated a gristmill and also continued in the practice of medicine, having graduated at the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, in the class of 1846-7. In 1847 he removed to Preble county and one year later came to Green- ville, where he continued the practice of medicine until September, 1881, when he re-
moved to Independence, Kansas, his death occurring there on the 19th of January, 1894. in the eighty-eighth vear of his age. His wife, whose maiden name was Eunice Wilson, died in December, 1881, soon after their removal to the Sunflower state.
E. W. Otwell, whose name introduces this record, spent the greater part of his youth at Otwell's Mills, where he acquired his early education, that was later supple- mented by study in the schools of Greenville and in the Wesleyan University at Dela- ware, Ohio. He left the latter institution on account of ill health, but subsequently en- gaged in teaching for some years in the district schools of Preble and Darke coun- ties. While engaged in teaching he pur- sued the study of law and was admitted to the bar in Greenville in 1858. He then be- gan practicing at the county seat of Preble county and at the same time continued the publication of the Greenville Journal. In 1878 he formed a law partnership with Will- iam Allen, a prominent attorney, and the connection was maintained until 1881.
The Greenville Journal, of which he is the proprietor, was established in 1832 and is the oldest paper of Darke county. From the time of its establishment until 1860 it passed through many hands, but in the latter year was purchased by E. W. Otwell and James M. Craig, who took possession on the 14th of March, 1860. Business was carried on under the firm name of E. W. Otwell & Company. When they came into possession of the paper the list of subscrib- ers did not exceed one hundred and fifty, but under the new management numerous additional subscriptions were received and the paper rapidly extended its influence. On the 14th of December, 1865. a change oc- curred in the ownership, E. W. Otwell buy-
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