A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 72

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806

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tended his earnest and well directed efforts. His life's labors ended, he left to those near and dear to him the priceless heritage of a good name-a name significant of good thoughts and kindly deeds. In his political proclivities Mr. Teegarden was a stanch Democrat, being a great admirer of Andrew Jackson. He was endowed with a strong mentality, and through his personal appli- cation and his contact with men had gained a broad fund of information, and was known as a man of discrimination and sound judg- nient. He was a devoted member of the Christian church, and was one of the found- ers of what is known as the Teegarden church. It was through the efforts of his father that the cemetery was laid out in this township (Brown), and the land for the same was donated by this honored pioneer, William Teegarden, for whom also the church above mentioned received its title.

Moses Teegarden was truly a God-fear- ing man, was imbued with those deep re- ligious convictions and principles which in- dicate the true Christian gentleman, and he was, indeed, one of the pillars of the church. He presided many times as the preacher in this vicinity, being regularly ordained as a minister of the Eastern Indiana conference, and was well known for his wisdom, integ- rity of purpose and deep piety. He was al- ways known as the friend of the poor and (listressed, never turning the needy empty- handed from his door.

Hannah D. Mendenhall, who became the wife of Moses Teegarden, was a native of Preble county, Ohio, where she was born March 8, 1831, and her death occurred on the 5th of November, 1863. She was a woman of gentle character and deep religious convictions, and the careful and conscien- tious training which she gave to her chil-

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dren had a perpetual influence upon their lives, and will ever be held in fond and grate- ful remembrance by the two who survive. Mr. and Mrs. Teegarden are both interred in the cemetery which bears their name, and they will be long remembered in the con- munity where they lived and labored to goodly ends, their lives being consecrated to all that was true and beautiful.

Mrs. Bailey, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in this county, and here she was for some time en- gaged in teaching, meeting with success in her pedagogic work. On the 19th of March, 1873, she was united in marriage to Samuel Bailey, and of this union three sons and three daughters were born, three of the number surviving, namely : Oliver Clin- ton, who is a successful farmer of Green- ville township, married Miss Sadie Puter- baugh; Tracey Lerton is at home, having passed the Boxwell examination, which en- titles him to admission to any high school in the county ; and Cora Ethel, who is at home, and who has likewise passed the examina- tion mentioned.

Samuel Bailey is a native of Darke county, where he was born February 8, 1847, a son of Henry and Nancy ( Runyon ) Bailey, who were the parents of five sons and four daughters. The father died in July, 1876, having been an honored and success- ful farmer of the county. His venerable widow, who was born in the state of Ken- tucky, is now eighty-three years of age. Samuel Bailey was reared to agricultural pursuits and has always devoted his atten- tion to this basic line of industry. In poli- tics he is a Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for General Grant. As a man and as a representative of one of the

old pioneer families of the county, he is held in the highest esteem, both he and his wife having a distinctive popularity in the social circles of this community, where practically their entire lives have been passed. They are charter members of the Christian church at Woodington, Ohio, and are active and zealous workers in the same.

HENRY A. CLAWSON.

As a representative and influential farmer of Brown township, and as a scion of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Darke county, it is certainly incumbent that we accord a brief review of the life of that well-known gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph. Mr. Clawson traces his an- cestry back to English origin, but he him- self is a native son of the township in which he now lives, having been born on the old homestead which he now owns and occupies. The date of his nativity was January 5, 1862, he being the only child born to Aaron and Rachel (Fisher-Cole) Clawson. His father was a native of New Jersey, where he was born in 1813, and he was but a child of two and one-half years when he accom- panied his parents on their removal to the far west, as Ohio was then considered. Butler county was their destination, and the family figured as pioneers of the state, which they enriched by their example and earnest efforts. Aaron Clawson remained in Butler county until his marriage, when he came to Washington township, Darke county, and later came to Brown township, where he con- tinted to make his home until death released him from the labors of this world. He was reared to agricultural pursuits on the frontier farm. receiving such educational advantages

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as were afforded in the common schools of the day, and lie ever gave his attention to the great basic art of agriculture. He started out for himself without capital or influential friends, but through his well directed efforts and his sterling integrity in all the relations of life he won his way unaided to a success which was worthy of the name. At the in- ception of his individual career as a farmer it is recalled that he evenmanufactured his own harness and other necessary equipments, this economy being enforced by his lack of means. He was a careful and hard-working man, strictly honorable and upright and one who held the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. At one time he was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Brown township, this county.

Mr. Clawson was a stanch Republican in politics, and he cast the first abolition vote in Washington township. He was firm in his beliefs and convictions and was not afraid to express himself upon questions of import- ance. In the later years of his life he fully endorsed the principles of the Prohibition party and was a strong advocate of temper- ance in every detail. He was a devoted and consistent member of the Christian church, holding membership in what was known as the Teegarden church, of which he was one of the founders, aiding materially in the erection of the first church edifice here. In all questions pertaining to morality and religion he stood firm, a tower of impregnable strength in the community. This hon- ored pioneer passed to hiis eternal rest March 31, 1888, secure in the esteem and veneration of the community where he had lived and labored to so good purpose.

The mother of Henry A. Clawson, the

immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Darke county. August 2, 1821, and she died March 13, 1895, at the residence of hier son, on the old homestead, so hallowed to her by the associations of years. Her life was gen- tle and was filled with kind words and deeds so that her place was secure in the love and esteem of all.

Henry A. Clawson was reared to agri- cultural pursuits upon the old homestead where he now resides, his educational dis- cipline being received in the common schools and effectually supplemented by discriminat- ing reading and association with men in the practical affairs of life. On the 16th of May, 1886, he was united in marriage to Alice A. Dunham, and to them two sons and three daughters were born, of whom three are living : Mary O., a very bright and studious little maiden is now in the seventh grade in her studies; James G. Blaine Clawson has reached the third grade in his school work; and Esther Rachel. the baby of the family, lends joy and brightness to the home circle. The parents are firm believers in the work of education and will give to their children the best possible advantages in this line.

Mrs. Clawson was born in Darke county on the 27th of February, 1858. the daughter of Henry and Sarah Jane ( Martin) Dun- ham, who were the parents of two sons and two dangliters, of whom the only survivors are Mrs. Clawson and her brother. John H., who is well known as Colonel Dunham, of Greenville, this county, being an agriculturist and tobacconist by occupation. He wedded Miss May C. Mendenhall. Mrs. Clawson's father was a native of Darke county, and here he died at the age of thirty years. Her great-grandmother was a native of bonnie Scotland, and Mrs. Clawson is able to recall

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her venerable relative, the cheery old Scotch lady. Mrs. Clawson's mother was likewise a native of Darke county, and she died Feb- ruary 13, 1886 aged fifty-two years. Mrs. Clawson has been reared and educated in this county, and she has gained the love and high regard of all, through her true womanly character and generous and kindly disposi- tion.

In connection with his farming Mr. Clawson has become deeply interested in the breeding of fine short-horn cattle, and to this branch of his industry he expects to devote careful attention and to conduct extensive operations as the years go by. He has at the present time nine head of the fine-bred short- horn stock, and a portion of the herd are reg- istered, as will the remainder be in due time. Mr. Clawson keeps well posted on the topics pertaining to the breeding of stock, and he is a patron of the best literature of the day in this and general lines. In politics he gives an unwavering support to the Republican party, his first presidential vote having been cast for James G. Blaine. He has been chosen as a delegate to county conventions of his party. He lends a ready support to the causes of education and religion and to all other good works which tend to elevate the community. He gave substantial aid in the erection of the Christian church at Wood- ington, of which Mrs. Clawson is a devoted member. The fine homestead of our subject comprises seventy acres, excellently improved and located in Brown township. Mr. and Mrs. Clawson are classed among our leading citizens and for this reason, as well as for their being representatives of honored pio- nieer families of the county, they are clearly entitled to consideration in this compilation.

DANIEL MILLER.

Daniel Miller, who follows farming on section 25, Harrison township, is a highly respected farmer, whose life has been quietly and unostentatiously passed, yet contains fea- tures that may well be emulated, for in all re- lations he has been found true to his duty to his neighbors, his family and his country.

He was born near West Alexandria, Pre- bie county, November 19, 1829, and in Au- gust, 1831, was brought by his parents to the farm upon which he now resides. His fa- ther, George Miller, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, about 1793, and died in New Madison, Ohio, in 1872, having lo- cated there the previous year. John Miller, the grandfather, was a well-to-do farmer of Pennsylvania, and reared five children, in- cluding George Miller, who spent almost his entire life in the Buckeye state. Having ar- rived at years of maturity he married Eliza- beth Cunningham, who was born in Ireland and during her girlhood was taken to Penn- sylvania. By her marriage she became the mother of eleven children, one of whom, Nancy, died at the age of two years. Seven sons and three daughters reached adult age : Mrs. Anna Adams, a widow now living in Kansas at the age of eighty-three years ; Niary, the wife of Washington Ulam, a farmer living near Winchester, Indiana; William, a farmer of Harrison township, who died at the age of seventy-eight years, leaving three children ; John, who died in the prime of life on his farm in Indiana, leaving five children : Robert, who died in New Mad- ison, in his sixtieth year, leaving four sons; Elizabeth, the wife of John Ray, who died at the age of seventy-three, leaving four

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daughters, while four died in infancy; George, who died at the age of twenty-seven years : David, who died at the age of twenty- four ; Samuel, who died in Harrison township about 1893, leaving three sons and a daugh- ter ; and Daniel, of this review. The mother passed away about 1852, and the father after- ward married Mrs. Hannah Gray, nec Wor- thington. She was the mother of five children, including I. P. Gray, a prominent statesman of Indiana, who served as minister to Alexico. The father of our subject was reared and married in West Virginia, and after the birtlt of the greater part of his cliil- dren came to Ohio, where in 1830 he pre- empted eighty acres of land, taking up his abode thereon in August, 1831. Not a fur- row had been turned, a tree cut or an im- provement made upon the farm. He se- cured his land from the government for a dollar and a quarter per acre and subse- |uary, 1899. at the advanced age of ninety- quently he made other purchases until he was the owner of a valuable tract of two hin- dred and twenty acres, together with a house and lot in New Madison. He also had a good bank account and was one of the sub- stantial residents of the community.

Daniel Miller was reared upon a large farm and early took his place in the forest with an ax, aiding in clearing away the trees and preparing the land for the plow. He attended school for two or three months each year in a little frame building, sup- plied with puncheon seats. The writing desk was formed of rough boards laid upon wooden pegs driven into large auger holes bored into the wall. To his father he gave the benefit of his services until his marriage, which occurred October 15. 1871, Miss Re- becca Lawrence becoming his wife. Their acquaintance had continued from childhood,

for they were reared on adjoining farms. Mrs. Miller was born October 6, 1829, a daughter of Rial and Minerva ( Braffet) lawrence. . Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, and at an early epoch in the pioneer history of Darke county came to Ohio, locating near the home of C. C. Walk- er. At his death, which occurred May 7, 1885, the following obituary appeared in one of the local papers : "Death has claimed an- other of the pioneer citizens of Yankeetown. On the 7th instant died Rial Lawrence, in the eighty-fourth year of his life. He was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, on January 19, 1802, and in 1825 was married to Minerva Braffet. They lived together sixty years and had six children, who with their mother survive him." Now, in 1900. the children are all living, but the venerable mother passed away at their home in Jan- , two years. Mr. Lawrence was an indus- trious and economical husbandman, a good manager and a square man in his business dealings, his word being as good as his bond. His remains were interred in the new ceme- tery at Madison, by the side of those of his wife.

Mr. Miller is the owner of three hundred and twenty-two acres of valuable land, lying in Harrison and Butler townships. He pur- chased one hundred and forty-six acres of land of his father, and the farm includes ninety acres of good timber land. He car- ries on general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of short-horn cattle and fine sheep. having from fifty to a hundred head of the latter upon his farm most of the time. His well-tilled fields yield to him good returns, and he raises annually from two to three thousand bushels of corn and

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about fourteen hundred bushels of wheat. He sowed fifty acres of wheat in the fall of 1899, and for the first time in years the crop proved a total failure. He feeds all of his corn to his stock, and in addition to his cat- tle and sheep he raises about one hundred head of hogs annually. His place is one of the best improved in this part of the county. In 1882 he built a large red wagon house, and the following year an immense barn, 42X 72 feet, with an L 32×42 feet. There is a good two-story residence upon the place, which was erected in 1886. He has never moved but once, and that was when he left the old home for the new. The old frame house, however, erected by his father, in 1842, is still standing, but in 1886 he tore down the log cabin which had been built in early days of round logs with a mud-and- stick chimney. He is very thorough, sys- tematic and methodical in his work, and is at the same time progressive and enterpris- ing. Ilis land is divided into fields of con- venient size by well-kept fences. The place is well drained and everything upon the farm is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating the careful supervison of the owner. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are widely known in Darke county, and enjoy the warm friend- ship of a large circle of acquaintances, and their many excellencies of character have gained them high regard and esteen, and it is with pleasure that we present to our readers their life record.

FRANZISKUS M. KATZENBERGER.

In the formation of the American nation the German element has been an important one. The qualities of earnestness, stability and perseverance characteristic of the people of the fatherland have contributed in no 34

small degree to the substantial building of American character and among the best cit- izens of the Republic are many of German birth or of German descent.

As the name indicates, Franziskus Mathi- as Katzenberger is of German lineage. He traces his ancestry back to Franz Jacob Kat- zenberger, who was born at Etlingen, in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, and died at Rastatt, January 10, 1788. He was rathsver- wander and hof-metzger. He married Ma- rianna Stroh, of Baden Baden, and died in Rastatt, January 15, 1783. They had four children : Katharina ; Marianna, who married a Mr. Rammelmaier and died October 8, 1793 : Franz Jacob : Franziska, who was born in 1766 and died March 15, 1816. She mar- ried Johann Frank.

Franz Jacob Katzenberger, the second of the name, was born at Rastatt, in 1752, and died December 27, 1830, at the age of seven- ty-eight. He engaged in the butchering. business in his native town. His wife, Franziska Frank, whose family owned the Hotel Krone, was born in 1756 and died on the 29th or 30th of April, 1826. She was a sister of Dr. Johann Peter Frank, born at Rastatt, Baden, March 19, 1745. He was a professor at Goettingen and Vienna, and was physician to Czar Alexander I. He died in 1821, at the age of seventy-six. Franz Ja- cob and Franzisca Katzenberger had six children : Margaretha, who was born Oc- tober 11, 1779, was married September Io, 1800, to Franz Joseph Witschger ; Franzisca, born March 31, 1783. died December 23, 1821. She was married October 26, 1804, to Franz Haver Maier, of Baden Baden, who was born November 29, 1777, and died July 8, 1831. She was his second wife. Josepli Calasanz was the third of the family. Ma- rianna, who was born May 21, 1791, and

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died February 27, 1815, was married Jan- uary 9, 1809, to Joseph Vogel, who was born in 1781, and died February 25, 1815. Magdalena, born August 17, 1795, died Feb- ruary 27, 1849. She was the third wife of Franz Haver Maier, their marriage taking place June 17, 1822. Katrina, the youngest of the family, died September 15, 1846, at Achern, at the age of forty-nine.

Joseph Calasanz, son of Franz Jacob and Franzisca Katzenberger, was born August 27, 1788, and died December 12, 1852. In early life he was a butcher, and later became the proprietor of the Hotel Zum Goldenen Schwan. His third wife was Margaretha Becker, of Sulzbach, who was born in 1798, and died May 16, 1871. Her grandmothers were both born in 1751, and both reached the age of eighty-eight years. Her mother died at the age of seventy-five. Joseph Cal- asanz Katzenberger and his wife are buried in the cemetery at Rastatt. They had eleven children. Mariana Franzisca, born Febru- ary 20, 1821, died March 9, 1821. Maria Josephine, born June 20, 1822, died Decem- ber 12, 1888. Maria Louisa, born February 10, 1824, died April 3, 1858. She was the wife of Herman Grosholz, a merchant of Baden Baden, and they were the parents of two children, namely: Hermann, who was born June 28, 1854, and died March 28, 1893, married Julia Peter, who was born April 19, 1859, and their children are Gre- tha, who was born in Baden Baden, April 24, 1885; Toni born April 13, 1887; and Hertha, born September 20, 1892; and Louisa, the younger child of Mr. and Mrs. Grosholz, who was born at Baden Baden, December 5, 1856. She is the wife of En- glehard Spitz, who was born February 5, 1844. Their children are: Albert, who

was born at Freiburg, Baden, December 2, 1883; and Ernst, born November 1, 1887, and died May 31, 1894.

Franziskus Mathias Katzenberger, the fourth in the line of descent, and the imme- diate subject of this sketch, was born Tues- day, October 4, 1825, in Morgens Uhr im Zeichen des Krebs. He spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native land, and in March, 1847, when twenty-one years of age, crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He took passage on the sailing vessel Arago, which weighed anchor in the harbor of Havre, and reached New York after a voy- age of twenty-one days. Two or three days later he went to Bucks county, Pennsylva- nia, where he worked in a boarding school for fourteen months, and then went to Phil- adelphia, where he was employed in various ways that would yield him an honorable liv- ing. After he had spent three years in America he came with his brothers, who had followed him to this land, to Ohio, and took up his abode upon a farm of fifty acres near Greenville. He began business in Union City, and was there married in 1853. Two years afterward he removed to a farm near Pikesville, belonging to his wife's fa- ther, and later took up his abode upon his present farm three miles west of Greenville, where he now owns two hundred and twenty- five acres of valuable land.

On the 7th of November, 1853, Mr. Kat- zenberger was united in marriage, by Squire Jones, to Maria Magdalena Mergler, who was born Thursday, March 23. 1837. Her father, Andrew Mergler, was born at Gern- sheim on the Rhine in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, December 18, 1807, and died Feb- ruary 21, 1877. His wife, Catherine Mar- garetha Herberger, was born in Langenkan-

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del, Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, February 7, 1818, and died July 23, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Katzenberger are the parents of nine chil- dren, eight of whom are living : Joseph Andrew, born Sunday, July 9, 1854, was married November 23, 1882, by Rev. C. W. Hoeffer, to Mary Elizabeth Wolf, who was born near west Baltimore, Preble county, Ohio, July 11, 1863, a daughter of Jacob Wolf, who died September 11, 1889, at the age of fifty-eight years. Her mother, Christina Paulus Wolf, was born August II, 1829. The children of Joseph Andrew and Elizabeth Katzenberger are: Charles Al- pha, born September 15, 1880; Clara Cla- dola, born April 15, 1884; Etta May, born March 30, 1886; and Karl Leopold, born August 11, 1889. Catherine Margarethe, the second child of the family, was born · March 16, 1856.

Josephine, born October 8, 1857, was married January 13, 1880, by the Rev. C. W. Hoeffer, to Nathan Little DuBois, who was born February 28, 1845, the eldest son of Norman and Hannah ( Vankirk) DuBois; the former, born in 1814, died July 26, 1883, and the latter, born February 18, 1818, died April 17, 1894. On the 22d of June, 1869, Nathan DuBois married Lucinda Jane Her- shey, daughter of Jacob and Sarah Her- shey, and her death occurred March 1, 1878. By that marriage four children were born : Clara, who was born April 3, 1871, was mar- ried December 20, 1893, by Rev. C. W. Hoeffer, to George Smith, who was born May 23, 1870, a son of Martin and Lydia (Wagner) Smith, and they have a little daughter, Lottie, born July 23, 1896; John Harrison, a resident of Montezuma, Iowa, was born March 22, 1873, and was married June 16, 1896, to Harriet Elizabeth War- ren, who was born October 2, 1874, a daugh-

ter of Charles F. and Mary E. (Hayne) Warren. Mr. and Mrs. DuBois have one son, Nathan Warren, born July 13, 1900. Jennie Clyde, the third child, was born De- cember 25, 1874, and was married Novem- ber 28, 1894, to Charles E. Furrow. They reside in Piqua, Ohio, and have a little daughter, Bernice Mure, born January 21, 1899. Hannah Bell, the youngest child of the first marriage, was born October 2, 1876.

The children of Nathan and Josephine DuBois are: Charles Otho, born Septem- ber 27, 1880; Bessie Mabel, born January 4, 1882; Lucinda, born January 31, 1883 ; Ben- jamin Stanley, born August 27, 1886; Maude Moiselle. born December 5, 1891; and George Dewey, born June 27, 1898.

Mary, the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Katzenberger, was born February 23, 1859, and was married November 27, 1878, by Rev. C. W. Hoeffer, to George Carlisle, a son of Norman and Hannah DuBois, born in Warren county, October 3, 1851. Their children are : Frank Mergler, born No- vember 29, 1879; Dorsey Darke, born March 13, 1882; Arlie Elizabeth, born November 27, 1884; Hattie Emily, born December 21, 1888; Helen, born September 15, 1894; and Harold, born July 6, 1861.

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A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 72

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 806

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806