USA > Ohio > Preble County > A Biographical history of Preble County, Ohio : compendium of national biography > Part 45
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James Denny, the father of our subject,.
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emigrated westward in 1808, taking up his abode on Elk creek, in Butler county, Ohio. Later, however, he removed to Twin Valley, making his home at Postown for a time. In 1838 he went to New Paris, Preble county, and in 1840 settled at Pendleton, Indiana, where he died in 1858. He was a farmer, miller and millwright, and although he started in life empty-handed he possessed a comfortable property, at the time of his death. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Hunt, was a native of New Jer- sey, and died in 1882, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. In the family of this wor- thy couple were seven children, of whom two are living, Jonas, who resides in Wichita, Kansas, and is eighty-four years of age, and Alfred, of this sketch.
Amid the wild scenes of frontier life Alfred Denny spent the days of his boy- hood and youth and experienced the usual hardships and trials that fall to the lot of those who became pioneer settlers. He pursued his education in the old brick school- house in Middleton, Butler county, and in early life learned the printer's trade. In 1836, however, he came to Eaton and ac- cepted a clerkship in the employ of Ellis Mitchell, who was the proprietor of a drug store. For three years he served in that ca- pacity, after which he spent three years in Greenville, Ohio. On the expiration of that period he returned to Eaton and for twenty ycars was engaged in business on his own account, failing health forcing his retire- ment. In 1844 he became agent for the American Fur Company, of New York, and in that capacity traveled through Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Under his superin- tendence there were one hundred and fifty agents engaged in buying furs through those states. They secured the pelts of dleer,
coons, foxes, both redand gray, wolves, bears, beavers, otters and wild-cats, and in a single year obtained forty-four thousand coon skins. Mr. Denny remained with the com- pany for fourteen years and can relate many interesting stories concerning the experiences with fur traders in this section of the coun- try at an early day. He made judicious in- vestments in real estate and is now the owner of three farms, comprising respectively one hundred and sixty-four, seventy and twenty- three acres.
In his political views Mr. Denny has been a stalwart Republican since the organization of the party and has exercised a strong in- fluence in its behalf. He has been promi- nent in its councils and conventions, and was a delegate to Columbus, Ohio, when the Re- publican party was organized in that city in 1854. Judge Rufus P. Spaulding, Hon. John Sherman, Joshua R. Giddings and Hon. Benjamin F. Wade, together with other pub- lic men, were his life-long friends; and the frequent interchange of letters were the means of continuing their social relations. He still owns a bed which was once occupied by "Ben" Wade. In 1855 Mr. Denny was very active in advocating the election of John Sherman to congress, and on every oc- casion when he has been a candidate for office since that time has been his earnest sup- porter. He says that the opinion that Mr. Sherman is of a cold and unsympathetic nature is utterly unfounded, and his long ac- quaintanceship, covering more than half a century, has certainly enabled him to be an excellent judge of the characteristics of the Ohio statesman. In 1869 Mr. Denny was appointed the doorkeeper of the senate, which position he acceptably filled for four years. In ante bellum days he was very active in promoting the "underground rail-
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road," and his home was a "station" on that line. He aided more than a hundred slaves in making their escape from Kentucky through Ohio to Canada. The black men were taken to a house on the top of Vine street hill in Cincinnati and from there to Elkton, a little Quaker town in Preble coun- ty, where they were sheltered by Alonzo Stubbs. In the night they were conveyed through Eaton to New Paris, Preble county, where they were cared for by Mr. Grimes until the next night, when they were sent on their way to Newport and thence to Cabin creek, Indiana, proceeding thus step by step to the free northern country. As many as nine negroes at a time have been conveyed through Eaton on their way to freedom, and Mr. Denny gave of his time and money to promote the work. During the civil war Mr. Sherman secured his appointment to the position of captain and assistant quarter- master, and in 1864, through the influence of Mr. Sherman, he was appointed Indian agent for the Sioux Indians. This ap- pointment was confirmed by the senate, but he did not accept the office.
In early manhood Mr. Denny was united in marriage to Miss Frances B. Holliday, who is now seventy-nino years of age. She is a daughter of James Holliday, one of the early settlers of Preble county, and a grand- daughter of William Bruce, who founded the town of Eaton. He purchased seven- teen and a quarter sections of land here in 1805, and the following year the town was laid out and the county was organized. In 1821 the population of the town was two hundred and seventy-five. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Denny were born three children, two of whom are living, Hannah and Laura, the former now the widow of John Beatty. For fifty-six years Mr. Denny has been a valued
member of the Odd Fellows society, aided in organizing the lodge in Eaton, and is now one of the oldest representatives. His life has been a very active and useful one. Al- though he has attained the age of eighty-one years his mental faculties are strong and vigorous, and his life record forms a link between the primitive past and prosperous present. For many years he was an active factor in business, social and political life, and upon the progress and advancement of Preble county he has left the impress of his strong individuality. He certainly deserves to be mentioned among the founders of Preble county, and his name will ever be en- graved among its honored pioneers.
MARTIN S. SAYLER.
Martin S. Sayler, a farmer of Somers township, was born in the house which is still his home, on the 19th of July, 1850. His father, Abraham T. Sayler, was born in Lanier township, March 5, 1812, and was a representative of one of the early pioneer families. The grandfather of our subject was Christian Sayler, who was born in Maryland, of Swiss parentage, the date of his birth being 1785. In 1806 he accom- panied his parents on their removal to Frank- lin county, Pennsylvania, but the same year he and his brother John came to Ohio, lo- cating in Lanier township, Preble county, where he was united in marriage with Mary Teal, a daughter of Samuel Teal. She was born in Frederick county, Maryland, Sep- tember II, 1789, and their wedding occur- red in 18II. The same year they removed to a farm at the mouth of Otterman creek, where, in 1805, one of their relatives had entered land. In 1814 they removed from that farm to the old family homestead upon
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which our subject now resides. It was then in the midst of a dense forest, the land being heavily timbered. Abraham T. Sayler, the father of our subject, was at that time but two years old. His parents tied a bell to him lest he should be lost in the woods! There were but few settlers in this section of the county at that time. No roads had been made and only bridle paths led from the various homes to mill or market. The settlers carried their grists on horseback to mill, and went long distances to secure store supplies. Abraham Sayler aided in cutting the roads and clearing the land, and during one season he went to seventeen log rollings on seventeen successive days. He was one of a large family and the eldest who reached years of maturity. The others were: Eliza- beth; Joseph, who died in childhood; Maria ; Jacob; Katie, who died in childhood; Me- lissa, who had two sons and two daughters who were married and had children of their own; Joseph, who is now living in Monroe township, Preble county, at the advanced age of seventy-seven years; and Maria, the wife of John W. Allen, also of Monroe town- ship. The grandfather of our subject died at the age of sixty-seven years, and his wife died at the age of ninety-one, their remains being interred in Young's cemetery.
Abraham Sayler was reared amid the wild scenes of the frontier and experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life. Having arrived at years of maturity he wed- ded Elizabeth Rinehart, who was born May 25, 1817, a daughter of Abraham Rinehart. She was born near Winchester and was mar- ried August 26, 1838. Their first child, William H. H., was born in 1840 and died in infancy ; Mary Magdalen, born February 8, 1843, became the wife of Nelson S. Ben- nett, and died June 10, 1893, soon after her
mother's death; Benjamin F., born in 1845, died December 26, 1873 ; Minerva was born in 1847, is now Mrs. Guakian; Martin S. is the next of the family; Fanny Ann, born October 22, 1852, died January 14, 1864; Salina was born in 1855 and died in 1856; Cicero, who was born in 1857, died in 1864, at the age of seven years; and Adrian, who was born in 1861, died in 1864, when three years old. Of the nine children all have passed away but our subject and his sister Minerva, wife of Patrick Guakian, a native of Ireland, who is now following farming in Gasper township, Preble county. The fa- ther was a Whig and Republican, but never sought office and never held a public position save that of school director. The cause of education found in him a warm friend and he took an active interest in every move- ment that would promote the effectiveness of the schools. He aided in building the first log schoolhouse in his neighborhood. It had an earth floor, greased paper win- dows, a mud-and-stick chimney, and one end of the room was occupied by an immense fireplace in which huge logs were burned. The desks were boards laid upon pegs driven into the walls, and the seats were puncheon slabs on wooden pins. This rude school- house was built on short notice, having been begun on Friday morning and was ready for occupancy by the next Monday morning, at which time the teacher had been engaged to open school. Mr. Sayler served as a cap- tain of militia for many years, of the Light Infantry. He was a man of military tastes and soldierly bearing and drilled recruits for the civil war in 1861. He was known throughout the community by the title of captain. In the fall of 1862 his eldest son went to the war, serving for three years as the color-bearer of the Eighty-first Ohio In-
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fantry. Captain Sayler was a believer in the divine truths, but never held member- ship in any church. He died March 6, 1899, and his wife passed away June 29, 1898. They now rest side by side in the Young cemetery.
Martin S. Sayler, whose name introduces this review, was reared to farm life, early be- coming familiar with all the duties and labors that devolve upon the agriculturist. His school privileges were limited to attendance during two summers and one winter term, owing to sickness and death in the family. The father, however, was a scholarly man who read extensively and his influence proved of great benefit to the son. Our sub- ject has never left the old homestead, but throughout his entire life has carried on ag- ricultural pursuits there. He was married May 20, 1875, to Sarah Ann Swihart, of Preble county, a daughter of James and Mary (Miller) Swihart. Her grandfather was David Miller, an.elder in the Dunkard church. Mr. and Mrs. Sayler now have five children. Charlie A. and Hugh J. were twins. The former died at the age of seven months, but the latter is still at home. Theodore S. is tho third of the family. The only daugh- ter is Mary B., who was born February 17, 1893. George H., the youngest, was born November 2, 1897. The home occupied by Mr. Sayler and his family was built by his father in 1852 and contains a part of the old log house, the remainder having been torn down in 1862. The famous large log barn which is still in use was built by his grand- father seventy-five years ago. The farm comprises one hundred and fifty-eight acres, which was entered by the grandfather, Sam- uel Teal, about 1800. Mr. Sayler carries on general farming and makes a specialty of the breeding of good cattle and hogs.
He grows wheat and corn and raises as high as from thirteen to eighteen hundred bushels of wheat and from twelve to eighteen hun- dred bushels of corn annually. He has an excellent orchard, which was planted by himself, and all of the other improvements and accessories of a model farm are there found. Mr. Sayler is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows of the third degree of Camden Lodge, No. 109. He is a Democrat in politics, has served as a school director for the past twelve years and has also been the clerk of the district. He is one of the charter members of the Wayne Farmers' Club. The history of the Sayler family was published in 1898, in which the ancestry is traced back for a period of nearly two centuries, and the family has been founded in Preble county for one and a third centuries. They were Dunkards at an early day. The record goes back to 1575 in Germany, and the first American pro- genitor, Daniel Sayler, was born in Switzer- land, June 15, 1708. Throughout a long connection with Preble county representatives of the name have taken an active part in its growth, development and progress, and have contributed greatly to its material advance- ment. As a member of this honored family and as a leading and influential citizen, Mr. Sayler well deserves mention in the history of his native county.
DANIEL BROWN.
Daniel Brown is engaged in the livery business in New Paris, and is an enterpris- ing citizen of this community. He was born in Harrison township, Preble county, on the 14th of July, 1835. His father, George A. Brown, was a native of North Carolina, and during his boyhood was brought to Preble
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county. His father, Adam Brown, was one of the pioneer settlers of this community. There were only three men in the county when he located within its borders, and he left the impress of his individuality upon the pioneer development of the state. Amid the wild scenes of the frontier George A. Brown was reared and later he married Miss Mary Ebersole, a native of Maryland, who came westward to Preble county with her parents during her girlhood. Her father, Feltz Ebersole, was a native of Maryland and followed the occupation of farming in Preble county for many years. Both the father and mother of our subject were of German descent, and the latter could speak only the German language when she came to Ohio. By their marriage were born eight children, all natives of Preble county, and Daniel Brown, of this review, is the fourth in order of birth. He was reared upon a farm in Harrison township and remained at home until he had attained his majority. During that period he pursued his education in the district school and engaged in farming until twenty-two years of age, when he removed to La Salle county, Illinois, spending a year in the Prairie state. On the expiration of that period he returned to Preble county and engaged in farming, a pursuit which he fol- lowed for some years. About 1870, how- ever, he removed to Noble county, Indiana, where he spent two years in connection with the agricultural interests of that locality. He then returned to Harrison township, and in 1892 he came to New Paris. The follow- ing year he embarked in the livery business, which he has since carried on and in his un- dertaking he receives a liberal patronage.
Mr. Brown was married, in Harrison township, to Miss Mary E. Lock, a native of that township, and to them have been
born three children : Emma L., now the wife of James Harris, a resident of New Madison, Darke county, Ohio, employed as a traveling salesman; Logan L., a successful teacher now serving as the clerk of the courts; and Cordelia M., at home. Mr. Brown exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has never aspired to office, his attention being fully occupied by his business affairs, in-which he is meeting with good success. His life has been a quiet yet useful and honorable one, commending him to the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
WILLIAM HAMBIDGE.
William Hambidge, the popular man- ager of the Hotel Rossman, of Eaton, is one of the best-known residents of the city. His long connection with the interests of Eaton and his prominence in business and social circles have gained him prestige which few enjoy, and through his efforts the Hotel Rossman has become the most popular and paying enterprise of the kind in Preble county.
Mr. Hambidge was born in Warwick- shire, England, January II, 1848, and is the eldest son of John and Annie ( Ellis) Hambidge, also natives of Warwickshire, where they were married. In 1854 they bade adieu to their old home and crossed the Atlantic to America, taking up their resi- dence upon a farm in Dixon township, Preble county, where they lived until 1865. They then removed to Newton county, Indiana, where the father now owns and operates a fine farm. The mother died on that farm in 1887, since which time the father has re- sided with his children to a great extent. He
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is now eighty-one years of age. In his fam- ily were eight children, seven of whom are yet living, namely : Kate, a resident of Richmond, Indiana; Mrs. S. A. Rossman, who is the widow of James W. Rossman and owns the Rossman House; William, of this review; Richard, a well-to-do farmer of Nebraska; Thomas, a successful agricultur- ist living near Lafayette, Indiana ; John, who lives on the home farm; and George, who resides at Brook, Indiana.
William Hambidge, whose name intro- duces this review, was ten years old when his parents came to America, and since that time he has been a resident of the Buckeye state. During the civil war he enlisted, in May, 1864, as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Ohio Infantry, and served his four-months term in Vir- ginia. He afterward re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Ohio Infantry, serving for one year in Georgia, under Gen- eral Wilson, being mostly engaged in fight- ing guerrillas, in following Sherman's army on the Atlanta campaign and in construct- ing railroads. At the close of the war he went to the old home in Indiana, where he remained for about a year, when he became a resident of Eaton, where he has since lived. For some time he has been associated with his sister, Mrs. Rossman, in the conduct of the Rossman Hotel, and in carrying on a bakery business and restaurant.
Mr. Hambidge is well fitted for his pres- ent occupation, being a genial, whole-souled gentleman who makes friends wherever he goes. Emerson says "the way to win a friend is to be one," and undoubtedly this is the secret of Mr. Hambidge's having a large host of admiring friends who entertain for him the highest regard. He is recognized
as one of the leading citizens of Eaton, and no new enterprise is undertaken in which his counsel and material assistance is not sought. Not only does he capably conduct the hotel, but, as before stated, is associated with his sister in other enterprises. The hotel building is a new, three-story brick, handsomely finished and finely furnished. The guests there are always sure to receive courteous treatment from the employes of the house and are enabled to enjoy comfort- able rooms and an excellent bill of fare. Ho- tel Rossman is the traveling man's home in Eaton. In connection with the house there is also a fine bakery which not only supplies the hotel but sells to the general public. In every possible way Mr. Hambidge labors to promote the comfort and happiness of his guests and his patrons are always glad to return to him, knowing that they will re- ceive a hearty welcome and considerable at- tention.
In public affairs Mr. Hambidge is quite prominent and has frequently been called to various positions. He served for eight years as the assessor of Washington town- ship, which includes the city of Eaton. He also served for one term as the township treasurer. He was a charter member of Mulharen O'Kane Post, No. 3, G. A. R., and always attends the national encampments of the organization. In politics he is a recog- nized leader in Democratic ranks and has been a delegate to several state, county, con- gressional and judicial conventions. In busi- ness affairs he is energetic, prompt and not- ably reliable. Tireless energy, keen percep- tion and honesty of purpose are his chief characteristics, and added to this is his genial and jovial manner, which has made him a most popular citizen.
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WILLARD A. EIDSON.
The ancestors of our subject were among the band of heroic Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower and made the first settlement upon the bleak shores of New England in 1620. The Eidsons, however, resided in Virginia at an early day, and the great-grandfather of our subject, Boyce Eid- son, was a minister of the Methodist Episco- pal church in the Old Dominion. Henry Eidson, the grandfather, was born in Bed- ford county, Virginia, and at an early pe- riod in the development of Ohio emigrated westward, taking up his abode in Lanier town- ship, Preble county, Ohio, where he followed farming. He was one of the pioneers of the Methodist faith in this locality, was an earn- est Christian gentleman and erected a church on his farm near Enterprise. His son, Boyce Eidson, the father of our subject, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1802, and during his boyhood came with his father to the Buckeye state. He, too, was an agri- culturist and assisted in reclaiming the wild lands for purposes of civilization. He be- came a prosperous and enterprising farmer, and at one time served as county assessor, which was at that time a county and not a township office, as now. His death oc-
curred in 1847. TIis wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca Ann Griffin, was born in 1808, and was a daughter of Jacob Griffin, of Delaware, and of Quaker extrac- tion. Unto Boyce and Rebecca Ann (Grif- fin) Eidson the following children were born : Griffin H., of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume; Henry B. and Charles B., deceased; Nancy Jane, the widow of C. P. Rensman, of Eaton ; Francis Marion, of Darke county, Ohio; Priscilla, the wife of James Gable, of the state of
Washington; Willard A., of this review; Hannah, deceased, the only one of the chil -. dren dying in childhood; Lucy E., the wife of H. H. Payne, of Camden, Ohio: Olivia, the deceased wife of W. Shewman; and Re- becca A., the deceased wife of Benjamin Smith.
Willard A. Eidson was born in West Alexandria, Lanier township, and having ac- quired his elementary education in the public schools continued his studies in the Normal School at Lebanon. Subsequently he en- gaged in teaching for three years. On the 23d of July, 1863, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, Mr. Eidson enlisted in the United States naval service, and was assigned to the gunboat Naumkeag, which rendered much service in convoying on the Mississippi, Red and White rivers. In this service our sub- ject remained for the greater part of a year and then, on account of disabilities, was sent to Pinkney Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained for six weeks. He was then transferred to the gunboat ram Avenger, on which he remained until the close of his service, which included the ex- citing Red river expedition, after which he was tendered a naval commission for merito- rious conduct, but on account of disabilities received in line of duty, was prevented from accepting.
After the war Mr. Eidson went to the west, and for a time was engaged in cattle- raising in Kansas, but he lost everything in a prairie fire. In 1867 he returned to Eaton, where for twenty-three years he was engaged in merchandising. Failing health then forced his retirement, but for a time he en- gaged in the wholesale leaf-tobacco trade. Through a quarter of a century he was re- garded as one of the most prominent and influential business men of the city, his af-
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fairs being managed with keen discernment and sound judgment.
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In his political relations Mr. Eidson is a Republican and a zealous worker in the ranks of his party. He was for nine years the city treasurer of Eaton, also served as a member of the city council, and in 1892 contested with John W. Cook, of Dixon township, Grant Sheller, of Harrison, and William Dove, of Washington, for the nomination for county auditor, securing the nomination and election. He was re-elected in 1895, by an increased majority of nearly five hundred votes over his majority on his first election, and much exceeding the majority over the head of his ticket-Governor Bushnell. This was a fitting endorsement of his efficiency and his many economic official reforms. On the close of his last term the Eaton Demo- crat, which had bitterly opposed his election, said, editorially : "While differing with Mr. Eidson radically politically it gives us pleas- ure to bear testimony to his fitness for the position in which the people of the county placed him and to say with absolute truth that no man ever held office in the county who discharged its responsible duties more efficiently, faithfully and satisfactorily, or who retired with cleaner hands or a cleaner official record. He turns the office over to his successor with the good will and best wishes of the people of the county, regard- less of political predilections, for his success in whatever business he may engage." The Eaton Register said : "His conservative, respected course in the conduct of his office has brought strength to the party, and we voice the sentiment of our people in saying that he has conducted the office efficiently, economically and satisfactorily. 'Well done, good and faithful servant!' "
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