USA > Ohio > Darke County > A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography > Part 89
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free state, and about 1807 the Quaker church, to which the Mote family belonged, arose in a body and emigrated from Georgia to Ohio, the most of the party locating near West Milton, in Miami county, where they established a church. There Ezekiel Mote, the father of our subject, was born. He became a farmer and merchant, and by his fellow citizens was honored with the office of justice of the peace. In 1832 he re- moved to Darke county, Ohio, taking up his abode four miles east of Arcanum upon a farm where he lived for some time. He then returned to Miami county, where he spent his remaining days. He married Miss Grace Vernon, of Miami county, a daugh- ter of Nathaniel and H. (Mendenhall) Ver- non. Mr. Mote was three times married, and by his first wife he had six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom lived to mature years, while four are now living : William C., a grain dealer on the Indianapo- lis, Bloomington & Western Railroad at Clark Station, Darke county; two sisters, and Irvin. The father of this family died in Miami county, in 1886.
Irvin Mote spent his early days upon the farm in Darke county, pursuing his educa- tion in the country schools until he had mastered the elementary branches of knowl- edge. When he was fourteen years of age his mother died. His father then appren- ticed him to the shoemaking trade in West Milton, Miami county. After following that business for some years he went to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where in 1850 he joined an expedition to go to Cuba, but that adventure proved a failure. After capturing the city of Cardenas, Cuba, the noble six hundred boarded their vessel to go to some other part of the island and in making their way out to sea their little craft was grounded. In
order to float it everything that was loose had to be sacrificed to the waters, and when the boat was again free it seemed for the. best interests of all parties "to steer for- God's country and get under the protection of some flag." The next morning the Cre- cle ran a race with the Spanish steamer of war Pizarro. For an hour and a half neither boat seemed to gain an inch on the other, but at length the Creole came out vic- torious, going into port at Key West, Flor- ida, about five minutes before the Pizarro reached that harbor. Mr. Mote then pro- ceeded on foot into the middle district of Florida, where he remained about a year. Subsequently lie went from there to Savan- nah, and on to Charleston, South Carolina. At the latter place, however, he continued less than six months, and then joined an- other filibustering expedition to go to Cuba. The part of the expedition he joined, how- ever, never left the state of Georgia. This- was in 1851. After the company had dis- banded Mr. Mote continued to make his. home in the empire state of the south until about the year 1856. In the meantime he attended a select school and to a limited ex- tent engaged in farming, raising some cot- ton. During the last year of his residence there he served as the manager of a cotton plantation for Enos H. Scarborough, at Seventy Mile Station, on the Central Rail- road.
He then returned to the state of his birth, Ohio, and subsequently was for sev- eral terms a student in the State Normal at Lebanon. He afterward engaged in teach- ing until the inauguration of the civil war, when he enlisted. He watched with inter- est the progress of events and the growth of public sentiment prior to the war: and in 1861, when the attempt was made to over-
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throw the Union, he joined Company G. of the Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Colonel Samuel Gil- bert. Mr. Mote remained with that regiment for two years after which he re-enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Cavalry. Not long after this he was captured and for three months was incarcerated in Libby prison. He was ever a loyal soldier, and until his capture was always found at his post of duty, faithfully defending the old flag and the cause it rep- resented. He was for four years in the ser- vice and was twice a prisoner of war. The government now grants him a good pension, and he maintains a pleasant relationship with his old army comrades through his connec- tion with the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Mote had been married in 1860 to Miss Elizabeth Ricketts, who died soon after, leaving one son, James J., now a resident of Anderson, Indiana. In 1869 Irvin Mote moved to Greenville, Ohio, where he has since resided, and for his second wife he chose Catherine J. Felton, of Greenville, a daughter of Charles Felton. Their union has been blessed with three children : Will- iam Vernon, a telegraph operator; Marma- duke, who is a civil engineer ; and Don Car- los. For many years Mr. Mote was actively identified with the official interests of the city, having been elected in 1886 to the office of justice of the peace, in which capacity he served until 1897. His decisions were always fair and impartial, and he was a most capable official, discharging his duties with- out fear or favor. His political support is given to the Democracy, and he is a stanch advocate of its principles, believing that in them are combined the strongest elements of good government, and the preservation of the American republic and the liberty of its people.
JESSE A. McGRIFF.
Jesse Allen McGriff, who is living on a farm on section 34, Butler township, was born in Twin township, April 29, 1849, and is a son of Price McGriff, who is represent- ed on another page of this volume. Upon his. father's farm he was reared and early be- came familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In early life he began work in the woods of But- ler township, whither his parents removed when he was five years of age. His educa- tional privileges were very meagre, being limited to two months' attendance at the dis- trict schools of the neighborhood during the winter season until he was fourteen years of age. He was married in his twentieth year, on the 14th of January, 1869, to Martha Jane Holesapple, whose birth occurred Jime 20, 1851, her father being David Holesapple. She died March 4, 1876, at the age of twen- ty-four years, eight months and fourteen days. Of her four children, Emma A. died August 19, 1870, at the age of eleven months: Levi, born September 8, 1871, is a farmer of Butler township and has a wife and one child, having also lost one child : O. P., born September 7, 1873, is a teacher and student of civil engineering, and married a daughter of William Fouble. The next child of the family died in infancy at the time of the mother's death. On the 8th of July. 1877, Mr. McGriff was again married, his second union being with Lizzie Emerick. Their children are: Walter Franklin, who was born June 26, 1878 and lives in Spring- field, Ohio, with his wife and one child; Granville Scot, who was born November 13, 1881, and aids in the operation of the home farm: Perry Allen, born August 10, 1883; Hester Gertrude, who was born October 8,
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1889, and is a most interesting child of eleven years : Jesse Howard, who was born in December, 1895, and died at the age of ten months; and William Herbert, born March 21, 1899.
Mr. McGriff is rearing his family upon luis farm in Butler township, and his atten- tion is largely given to the cultivation of his one hundred acres of land. He located thereon in 1881 and by the careful manage- ment of his business affairs he has gained a place among the representative agriculturists of the community. He rotates his crops of clover, corn and wheat or oats and annually gathers rich harvests. He also engages in raising hogs and cattle and feeds his crops, with the exception of his wheat. In his po- litical views Mr. McGriff is a Democrat and has served as township trustee, which posi- tion he is filling at the present time in a most commendable manner. Both he and his wife formerly held membership in the United Brethren church, but in February, 1894. severed their connection therewith. Their little daughter, Esther Gertrude, was an in- valid up to the age of five years, being almost entirely helpless. The medical profession could render her no aid. Her head was ab- normally large, so that the weak little body could hardly sustain its weight, and her re- covery came about through the marvelous example of the Divine gift of healing in prompt answer to the prayers and faith of a company of people attending camp meeting. Now when the little girl is indisposed she goes in prayer herself to the Great Healer. Her recovery was most marvelous, being a manifestation of the infinite power of which mortal man has but little conception. Mr. and Mrs. McGriff are both widely and favorably known in this locality and the circle of their friends is extensive.
DANIEL WARVEL.
A native of West Virginia, Daniel War- vel was born in Montgomery county, Sep- tember 5, 1834. His father, Christopher Warvel, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, February 27, 1796, three years before the death of General Washington, and after arriving at years of maturity he mar- ried Charlotte Lilly, who was born in the same county, June 4, 1799. Emigrating westward they located in Warren county. Ohio, and afterward removed their home to Montgomery county and thence came to Darke county about 1839. On arriving in Warren county they offered their last five dollars in payment for a purchase and found that the bill was a counterfeit! so they be- gan life in the Buckeye state on absolutely nothing. On arriving in Darke county they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Richland township and thereon built a log cabin. Red men were much more nu- merous in that locality than white settlers, and this region was situated on the very borders of civilization. Deer were very plentiful, and other wild game could be had in abundance. Farming was carried on by means of the old-fashioned sickles, one of which is still in the possession of the sub- ject of this review. The father was an ex- cellent hand in the harvest field, being able to cut more grain in a day than the majority of his neighbors. Many of the roads of the county were not then laid out, and the routes to Fort Greenville were indicated by blazed saplings. The town of Ansonia was known as Dallas, and Piqua was but a small village, to which Mr. Marvel would haul his wheat to market, returning on the fol- lowing day. During the war of . 1812 he loyally served his country, and was granted a
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land warrant in recogniton thereof. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and took an active part in the campaign of 1840 when the rallying cry of the Whigs was "Tippeca- noe and Tyler, too." He was one of the leaders in the movement for the erection of the first United Brethren church on the banks of the Stillwater. The bridges had been carried away by high water, and Mr. Warvel had two horses which he swam back and forth to carry the men back and forth to work on the church. He was a very generous man, benevolent to the poor and at all times kind and considerate. He died March 18, 1851, and his wife passed away March 14, 1855. In their family were nine children, four sons and five daughters.
Daniel Warvel, of this review, was only four years old when brought by his parents to Darke county, where he has since re- sided. He obtained his education in an old log school-house, beginning his studies 1111- der the instruction of "Uncle David Hantle," a pioneer settler of Richland township. The slab seats, puncheon floor and rude board desks in which the big boys and girls wrote their exercises formed the primitive furnish- ings of the building, and were in great con- trast with the present tasteful and well- equipped school-houses of today. Mr. War- vel early became familiar with the work of the farm, and has always carried on farm- ing and stock raising. At the age of sixteen he started out to earn his own livelihood, working for six dollars per month, and from this sum he saved enough to purchase a set of harness. At the time of his marriage he located on a little farm of forty acres in the vicinity of Pikeville He had made pay- ment of four hundred dollars upon the place, incurring an indebtedness for the remainder. In the log cabin he began life in trite pio-
neer style, and experienced many of the hardships and privations which fall to the lot of the early pioneer settlers, but with chiar- acteristic energy he worked on day after day and at length gained the reward which never fails to attend earnest and persistent labor. He is today the owner of three hundred and eighty acres of valuable land in Richland township, and the place is well improved with all the accessories of the model farm.
Mr. Warvel has been twice married. He first married Catherine Kayler, and they had one son, Joseph C., who resides in Can- ton, Ohio, where he is engaged in commer- cial pursuits. The mother died February 3, 1857, and on the 21st of March, 1858, Mr. Warvel wedded Sarah Powell, by whom he had five children, three sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom are yet living. Mrs. Warvel was born in Monroe county, Ohio, January 27, 1836, and is a daughter of Levi and Mary ( Linn) Powell, in whose family were ten children, five sons and five daugh . ters, nine yet living. The parents were both natives of Pennsylvania and were mem- bers of the Reformed church. The father was a farmer by occupation and is now de- ceased. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Warvel are: Mary A., wife of Abram Ela, a farmer of Richland township, by whom she has two children; Lucy, wife of W. J. Wilson; Laban, a farmer who is married and lives in Richland township; Amos A., a farmer residing in Richland township, who is married and has six children; and Clement L., who is likewise married and re- sides in Richland township.
For sixty-two years Daniel Warvel has resided in Darke county, and his life has been filled with good deeds. In his busi- ness career he snstains an unassailable repu- tation, for in all transactions he has ever
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
been honorable and upright. His political support is given to the Democratic party, and his first vote was cast for James Buch- anan. He has several times been chosen as delegate to county conventions, and has been elected to a number of local offices of public trust. He and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, and in their lives have exemplified their Christian faith. doing unto others as they would that they should do unto them. They have carefully reared their children, have presented them with comfortable homes and now Mr. War- vel resides in the village of Beamsville in a pretty cottage, where they are enjoying many of the comforts and pleasures of life.
HENRY M. BICKEL.
Henry M. Bickel is the representative of a family that has figured prominently in the annals of Darke county since the days of its pioneer development. He traces his ances- try back for several generations to Tobias Bickel, who came to America from the fa- therland in colonial days and took up his residence in Center county, Pennsylvania. He was accompanied by his wife and his two brothers, John and Thomas, and their fami- lies. Thomas Bickel had no children, but Tobias and John Bickel each had six sons and some daughters. One of the children of Tobias Bickel bore the name of Andrew and become the grandfather of the subject of this review. Among the first settlers of Center county, Pennsylvania, the Bickels were also actively connected with the prog- ress and improvement of that section of the Keystone state. Each brother secured six hundred acres of land in the Penn valley. cleared and developed farms, and to each of his sons Tobias Bickel gave one hundred
acres of land. He erected a grist-mill upon his farm and did all of the milling in that section of the country for many years. His son Andrew inherited the one-hundred-acre tract upon which the mill was located. He spent the first thirty years of his life in the state of his nativity-having been born in Pennsylvania-and on the 16th of May, ISII, bade adieu to his old home and started for Ohio. He was accompanied by his family and a boy whom he had employed to act as driver. He had married Catherine Glass, and unto them had been born three children : Andrew, John and Tobias. The journey was made by team to Pittsburg, where Mr. Bickel secured passage for him- self and family on a flat-boat to Cincinnati, Ohio, while the team was taken overland. On reaching Cincinnati, they spent six days with a cousin, Christopher Bickel, while wait- ing for the team to arrive, and it was during that time that the grandfather of our sub- ject decided to make his home in Montgom- ery county. After a trip of forty-five miles over a road which they made for themselves, they reached their destination and took up their abode upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, four miles west of Germantown. When they located thereon the land was in its primitive condition, but during the first year Andrew Bickel cleared a small portion upon which he erected a little cabin. In 1812 he was drafted into the service in the second war with England, but hired his old driver to go as a substitute, for he felt that his own services were needed in developing the farm and in providing a home for his children. He lived upon that place for about fifteen years and erected a hewed-log house and barn. He also placed a consid- erable portion of the land under cultivation, but on the expiration of that period he re-
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moved to a farm near Tippecanoe, Indiana, purchasing a small tract of land that he af - terward sold. He then went to Laporte county, that state, where he purchased an- other small farm, upon which he spent his remaining days, his death occurring about 1839. His marriage to Catherine Glass was blessed with the following children: An- drew became the father of our subject. John was a resident of Washington township, Darke county, and reared a family of six sons and four daughters. Tobias, who was born in Pennsylvania, May 8, 1811, was only eight days old when his father left Pennsl- vania. Tobias married and reared five sons and three daughters, the former being Daniel WV., a worthy citizen of Washington town- ship; John, who is living in Union City, In- diana : J. M., a leading lawyer of Darke county and ex-probate judge ; and Hamil- ton and Markus, who are deceased. John Wesley, who served in the civil war, is now a resident of Washington township, being the eldest surviving member of that family. Jacob went with his father to Laporte coun- ty, Indiana, and died there. Daniel also died in the Hoosier state. Mary, who be- came the wife of Jacob Genger, of Washing- ton township, where their children still re- side on the home farm, the parents being both deceased ; Abigail, who became the wife of William Dudley, of Indiana, both now de- ccased; and Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Smith, of Indiana, and went to California, since which time no news has been received from her. The father of these children was an old Jacksonian Democrat. He was six fcet in height, of strong physique and well fitted to meet the hardships of pioneer life.
Andrew Bickel, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Center county, Pennsylva- nia, September 2, 1803, and in 181I came
with his parents to Ohio. He remained at home until 1830, when he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Moyer, a native of Virginia, who came with her family to Montgomery county. After his marriage Mr. Bickel took up his abode on section 16, Washington township, Darke county, where he entered eighty acres of land from the government and afterward added to it by purchase a forty-acre tract. All of this land was wooded and in the midst of the forest he erected a log cabin in which he lived for about ten years, when the primitive home was replaced by a weatherboarded house which still stands upon the farm. This was his home up to the time of his death, but his demise occurred in the home of his son, Daniel F., who lived just across the way. Ile departed this life March 12, 1888, re- spected by all who knew him. His political support was given to the Democracy from the time when he cast his first presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. He was a noted mathematician, filled a number of township offices in a most creditable manner, and was an attendant on the services of the Lutheran church. He married Nancy Moyer and they became the parents of ten children, seven of whom reached years of maturity. Henry is the eldest. John, who was born February 22, 1832, died in 1885. He con- ducted a store at Hills Grove for more than thirty years. He married Mattie Lesher, and they became the parents of ten children, but only three are now living: Newton, Oscar and Pearl, the daughter being the wife of Isaac Butt, of Jackson township. Daniel F., born in 1837, and now a resident of Washington township, married Mary Lan- des, and they have six children, all living. Catherine, who was born in 1840, is the wife of Henry Bloclur, of Jackson town-
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ship, and they have a son and daughter. Elizabeth, born in 1842, is the wife of John J. Norris, of Union City, and they have a daughter. Andrew, born in 1852, now re- sides in Washington township. He married Sarah Armstrong and after her death mar- ried Lydia Ellen Worth, by whom he has two children.
Henry M. Bickel was born in Montgom- ery county, Ohio, January 2, 1831. He never attended school until ten years of age, after which he enjoyed such advantages as were afforded in the district schools of the neighborhood. He continued his studies through the winter season until twenty-one years of age, and during the summer months he worked upon the home farm. In 1852 he was employed as a farm hand in Green- ville township for ten dollars per month, working for three months, and later he en- gaged in the construction of the Dayton & Western Railroad for about six weeks. He was then promoted as foreman and assisted in the construction of two miles of the track. During the winter of 1852-3 he was en- gaged in teaching school, and in the spring of the latter year went to Cincinnati, where lie hired a gang of men with whom he went to Illinois to work in the construction of the St. Louis Railroad, near Bloomington, Illi- mois. About the 20th of May he returned to Ohio and going to Dayton entered the employ of Henry Doolittle, a contractor on the Dayton, Xenia & Belpre Railroad, his time being thus occupied until the 20th of October of the same year, when he was taken ill with typhoid fever and returned to his fa- ther's home. He was sick for seven weeks and after his recovery his father would not consent to his leaving home, so he remained upon the farm until his marriage.
That important event in his life occurred
on the 12th of June, 1856, Miss Mary Crum- min, daughter of Moses and Mary Crum- min, of Washington township, becoming his wife. Her parents were natives of Neave township. After his marriage Mr. Bickel purchased a farm of ninety-seven acres. All of his land is in Washington township with the exception of a forty-acre tract in Ran- dolph county, Indiana. His first purchase was all wild land, but with the exception of eight acres the entire amount is now under a high state of cultivation, its richly culti- vated fields yielding to the owner a golden tribute. He lived in a log house for twelve yeårs and then erected his present farm resi- dence. He also built the barns and other outbuildings and added to the place all of the substantial and modern improvements found upon the model farm. He devotes his time and attention to the raising of grain and stock, and is progressive in his business methods, which are therefore attended with success.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bickel have been born six children, four of whom reached years of maturity. John C., the eldest, who was born March 12, 1857, is now residing on the farm in Jackson township, Darke county. He married Miss Rosa Cook, of Washington township, and they have three children : Harley, Carl, and Asa. Adaline, the second member of the family, was born in 1860, and is the wife of William Mote, of Randolph county, Indiana, by whom she has one child, Ethel. Harrison C., born in 1866, is now a prominent attorney and noted mathematician of Indianapolis, Indiana. His wife bore the maiden name of Temie Richeter. Irving, born in 1868, married Miss Anna Ware, of Washington township, and they have two children, Mary and Fran- ces Helen.
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In his political views Mr. Bickel has al- ways been a Democrat, unfaltering in sup- port of the principles of the party. In 1886 he was elected county treasurer, took the oath of office in 1887 and served for four years, proving a reliable and capable official. He has filled all the township offi- ces with the exception of clerk and justice of the peace, and has ever been found true and loyal to the duties devolving upon him. He is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of Ohio, and during his long residence in Darke county he lias ever de- served and enjoyed the respect and confi- dence of his fellow men. He has done as much or more real hard labor than any other man now living in Darke county, Ohio, and, thanks to his heavenly Father, is still robust and hearty at the time of this writing.
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