USA > Ohio > Preble County > A Biographical history of Preble County, Ohio : compendium of national biography > Part 52
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It was in 1873 that Mr. Parks removed to Cass county, Indiana, arriving there, Au- gust 12, and on the 12th of August, 1880, he returned to Preble county, Ohio. He purchased the old homestead of Jonathan Davisson, upon which he made many im- provements, including the erection of a good residence, substantial barns and outbuild- ings, transforming it into one of the most desirable farms of its size in the locality. It consists of one hundred and twenty acres of land, and he also has twenty acres near and joining West Manchester, where he has lived retired since March 2, 1892. While en- gaged in farming he made a specialty of the raising of fine horses, most of which he sold at from one hundred to two hundred dollars per head. He also gave considerable attention to cattle and hogs, and in all his undertakings met with excellent success. Keen discrimination, unflagging industry and resolute purpose are numbered among his salient characteristics, and thus he has won that prosperity which is the merited re- ward of honest effort.
Mr. Parks is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and has served as school director, township trustee and in many other
local offices, the duties of which he most capably discharged. He is a prominent member of the Christian church of West Manchester, and is now serving as a trustee of the same.
SAMUEL E. SHELLENBARGER.
Probably no man connected with the ag- ricultural interests of Preble county is more widely known throughout the United States than Samuel E. Shellenbarger, who is suc- cessfully and extensively engaged in the breeding of Poland China hogs. Few men have done more to improve the grade of hogs raised in this country than our subject, and as a reliable business man, enterprising and honorable, he well deserves representation in this volume. He makes his home in Cam- den, where he is also engaged in conducting a shoe store.
He was born in Butler county, Ohio, De- cember 14, 1848. His father, Daniel C. Shellenbarger, was a native of North Caro- lına, born in 1809, about ten miles from Ra- leigh. He died in Butler county, in the fall of 1869. The grandfather of our subject was of German descent and the father spoke German as well as English. Though not a college-bred man, he possessed strong men- tality and through reading, experience and observation became well informed. About 1839 he married Elizabeth Smith, a daugh- ter of Daniel Smith, of Pennsylvania. Dan- iel Shellenbarger was a carpenter and builder by trade, following those pursuits in early life, but after coming to Ohio he carried on farming in Butler county, owning and oper- ating there one hundred and ninety-two acres of land. Both he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. The lat- ter survived her husband about seven years
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and died in 1878, at the age of sixty years. This worthy couple were the parents of eight children, of whom seven are yet living : William is an extensive farmer of Butler county, Ohio, and has three children ; David, who operates the old family homestead, has two children living and has lost two; Mrs. Eliza Fulkerson, a widow, has three chil- dren; Daniel, who died in Tipton county, Indiana, left two children ; Jacob is a farmer and stock and grain shipper and dealer of Butler county, and had six children, of whom four are now living; Samuel E. is the twin brother of Katie Shellenbarger, the latter the wife of L. Caldwell, of Garnett, Kansas, and has one daughter ; and Sophia, the youngest of the family, is the wife of William Young, of Oxford, Ohio.
Mr. Shellenbarger, whose name intro- duces this review, obtained a liberal educa- tion in the common schools and remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he took a trip to the west, residing in Missouri and Kansas. He was engaged in farming and in the grocery business for about two years, and then returned to Butler county, where he was married on the 9th of Feb- ruary, 1870, to Eliza J. Duffield, of Butler county, a daughter of James B. Duffield, who is now one of the most extensive farmers and land owners of Preble county. He owns several valuable farms and is engaged in breeding Poland China hogs. He was one of the pioneers in this business, which he began in 1840, and which he still continues to some extent, although he is practically living retired, having attained the advanced age of eighty-two years. He has held a number of town offices, and for many years was a leader in public affairs in his locality. He had eight children, four of whom are yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Shellenbarger have
lost one son, James, who died at the age of nine months. Their living children are : Vinnie May, who is a graduate of the Cam- den high school and has also pursued a course in a business college; and Bessie L., who pos- sesses considerable musical ability, in which direction she is being trained. .
For some years Mr. Shellenbarger has been engaged in breeding and dealing in registered Poland China hogs. He has spared neither pains nor expense to secure the very best grades. He owns and breeds the best stock in the country, and had the distinction of carrying away from the World's Fair eleven hundred and seventy- five dollars in six first premiums and one sec- ond premium, and four of the six were grand sweepstakes. The stock business is carried on under the firm name of S. E. Shellenbar- ger & Company. In the shoe business he is associated with Mr. Sebert, and they have their store at No. 120 Main street, where in 1894 they bought and remodeled a fine busi- ness block, containing two store rooms. They are the largest recorders in the Ohio Poland China Record. They have paid as high as seven hundred and fifteen dollars for a boar, Big Chief Tecumseh, which is no doubt the best representative of Poland China stock in the United States. For the boar named J. H. Sanders they were offered eleven hundred and fifty dollars. They con- duct annual and semi-annual sales in Cam- den, where they have a large pavilion spe- cially fitted up for this purpose, and the am- phitheater is the scene of much excitement and high bidding when their stock is sold at auction. They dispose of from one hun- dred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty hogs in this way each year, and have so done for the last six or seven years. Their business is indeed extensive and brings to
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them an excellent income, and in stock cir- cles throughout the United States the firm is widely and favorably known, enjoying a most enviable reputation for honesty in all trade transactions.
Mr. Shellenbarger now owns four large farms, including the home farm, and his property is the merited reward of his own labors. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and a man of sterling worth, who enjoys the respect and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. His marked industry, unflagging energy and resolute purpose have been the salient points in his . prosperity, and his life should serve to en- courage and inspire others who must de- pend upon their own exertions for advance- ment.
WILLIAM GREGG.
The name above suggests much of local history in Preble county, Ohio, where the Greggs have been pioneers and prominent farmers since the early days. William Gregg, a son of Silas and Susan (Fudge) Gregg, was born in Gratis township, Preble county, Ohio, two miles south of Winches- ter, April 17, 1837. His father was born in Georgia, January 4, 1801, and when but four years of age came to Ohio with his parents, who lived there until their death. Mr. Gregg's father, Silas Gregg, Sr., was born April 29, 1759, and his mother, Rhoda, was born March 6, 1764. They had eight chil- dren, three girls and five boys. The old peo- ple, who were of English descent, both died about 1850. Silas and Susan Gregg went to housekeeping on the old home farm, where they lived five years. In 1838 they removed to the Gregg farm, in section 27, Lanier
township. At the time of their removal to this place only about seventy acres were cleared. The residence into which they moved consisted of what is now known as the old brick portion, which was erected in 1830, by Jacob Brower, the building assuming its present dimensions in 1852, when Mr. Gregg built the frame addition. The barn was erected in 1840, and later received an addi- tion. February 27, 1856, Mr. Gregg was called away by death and his widow occupied the place until her death, October 2, 1892. They left seven children, four boys and three girls, one of whom is dead. The eldest, Nancy, was born May 25, 1834, and married Washington Ozias, and died in 1861, leav- ing two children. Eliza A., born January 6, 1836, married Noah Coler and lives in Montgomery county, and they have five chil- dren. William is the immediate subject of this sketch. Mary A., born January 21, 1841, lives with her husband, Robert H. White, just west of the homestead. John, who was born March 13, 1843, married Sa- rah A. Young, and they have two children and live on the home place. Elijah, born January 5, 1847, married Eliza Morningstar, and they have one child and live in this county.
Mr. Gregg at his death left his family in comfortable circumstances. He was a faith- ful member of the Christian church at New Lexington, to which church Mrs. Gregg also belonged. Mr. Gregg, by an upright course through life, marked by many kind deeds, established for himself an unsullied reputa- tion and won the esteem and honor of his fellow citizens. His widow, finding herself in charge of the large farm, did not flinch from the responsibilities which were sud- denly thrown upon her, and it is greatly to her credit that, instead of allowing the prop-
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erty to decrease, as is so often the case under similar circumstances, she largely added to its value. She purchased, subsequently to her husband's death, eighty acres across the pike, just west of the home place, and one hundred and sixty acres of land in Wabash county, Indiana. She brought also, with her son John, the old Dennison mill on Twin creek. Mrs. Gregg, in the management of her property, had the cordial assistance of her children, whom she raised to habits of industry and economy.
Susan Fudge, who married Silas Gregg. was the second child of Jacob and Elizabeth Fudge. Her parents emigrated from Vir- ginia at an early day and settled in Lanier township, where she was born November 9, 1812. She received the best education which that early community afforded, in a little log schoolhouse of the true pioneer type. Though her father and mother had thirteen children, ten of them were girls and not until the seventh child was born was there a boy in the family. On this account much of the heavier work fell to the lot of the girls. Mrs. Gregg had vivid remem- brance of helping her father in the work of clearing away brush, going to mill and the like. Nor was she idle in the domestic cir- cle. The spindle and shuttle were her com- panions in the manufacture of linen, flannel and cloth for home use. She was also ac- customed to braid straw for her hats and bonnets.
Jacob Fudge, her father, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, December 26, 1779. His father died when he was about three years of age, leaving a wife and two small boys, Jacob and David. The mother subsequently remarried and the family re- moved to Kentucky, where they lived until Jacob was about fourteen, when they emi-
grated to Warren county, Ohio, and settled where Lebanon now stands. Some six years afterward they settled on Clear creek, in the same county, near Springboro.
After living there a few years Jacob and his brother David, having attained their ma- jcrity, concluded to strike out for themselves. They made their way to what is now Lanier township, Preble county, Ohio, and pur- chased five hundred acres of land on Twin creek, in sections 34 and 35. At the time of the purchase Jacob Fudge was obliged to go to Cincinnati to make a payment and re- ceive a patent for the land. Cincinnati was then a mere village on the outskirts of civili- zation, and the court-house in which Mr. Fudge transacted his business consisted of the upper story of a log building. While there he was offered a real estate investment, which, had he accepted it, would have proved a most fortunate one for him; but he pre- ferred his broad acres on Twin creek in the wilderness to a few acres in the embryo city. Mr. Fudge finally became possessed of his brother's share in the Twin creek tract, hav- ing exchanged for it land on Price's creek. When Preble county was organized Mr. Fudge was elected its first sheriff, but he had no liking for official life; and it is related that he bought an admirer a gallon of whisky of condition that he would not urge his nom- ination for a certain office. Mr. Fudge mar- ried, November 14, 1810, Elizabeth, a daugh- ter of Gasper Potterf, the pioneer in the township which received his given name. Mrs. Fudge was born February 10, 1790, in Rockingham county, Virginia. They began married life in a log cabin on the hill west of the Jacob Fudge place. In 1819 Mr. Fudge erected a brick dwelling, one of the earliest brick houses in the county. It was a two-story structure with a story-and-a-half
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wing, and was considered a stately building for that time. He died in his eighty-fourth year, March 27, 1863, and his wife died Feb- ruary 3, 1869. They were the parents of thirteen children : Malinda, who became Mrs. Pence, born August 23, 1811, de- ceased; Susan, now Mrs. Gregg; Mrs. Nancy Pence, born February 16, 1814, deceased; Lucinda, born September 6, 1815, died un- married; Sarah, who became Mrs. Kesling, born July 28, 1817, deceased; Mrs. Eliza Ann Christman, born September 6, 1819; David, born June 26, 1821, died in Cali- fornia in 1859; Mrs. Elizabeth M. Harlan, born June 29, 1823; Mrs. Margaret Wie- land, born May 23, 1825, deceased; Frank- lın N., born December 15, 1826; Seraphina, who became Mrs. Shaw, born April 8, 1829; Armina, who became Mrs. Gifford, born April 18, 1832; and Jacob, born July 13, 1837. Mr. Fudge was a hard-working, un- ostentatious man who attended strictly to his own affairs. His early education was nec- essarily neglected, but he was a man of sound judgment and prospered in his worldly in- terests.
William Gregg was reared on his fa- ther's farm, and acquired his education in the common schools. He was nineteen years old when his father died, and he remained with his mother, assisting her in the manage- ment of the estate, until 1867, when he mar- ried Miss Lavina Smith, a daughter of John Smith, a native of Virginia who came early to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county and became a well-to-do farmer and influen- tial citizen there. Mrs. Gregg died April 28. 1876, leaving one son, Willard V., who is a member of his father's household. Decem- ber 4, 1879, Mr. Gregg married his present wife, who was Miss Catharine Smith, a na-
tive of Montgomery county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Smith, also a native of that county, and a son of John Smith men- tioned above. Mrs. Gregg was brought up on her father's farm in Jackson township, four miles southwest of Germantown. By this marriage Mr. Gregg has four children: Clarence E., Noah O., Jacob S. and Hannah Altie, all of whom are still at their paternal home.
In 1865 Mr. Gregg bought his present home farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section 26, Lanier township, Preble coun- ty, and there he located immediately after his first marriage. In 1891 he bought one hundred and twenty-two acres adjoining his first purchase, increasing the acreage of the place to two hundred and eighty-two. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Kearney county, Kansas, which he bought in 1893. A man of good business ability and versed in all the science of agriculture from boyhood, he has made a success of farming and tobacco culture, and has also made a reputation as a tobacco buyer. As the administrator of the Eikenberry estate he settled it so ably and impartially as to win the approbation of the court, the heirs and the public. After the death of his mother he administered her will and disposed of the Gregg property to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. Politically he is a Demo- crat, but is admired for the liberality of his views and his respect for the views of those who oppose him. He has been sent as a delegate to county conventions, and other- wise has had an important part in Democratic affairs in his township. For nine years he has been a member of the school board of La- nier township. Though not a member of any church, he contributes his full share to-
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ward the maintenance of public worship, and is a liberal supporter of the conserva- tive Dunkard church, of which Mrs. Gregg is a communicant.
HENRY J. TAYLOR.
Henry J. Taylor was born in Somers township, Preble county, June 30, 1840, a son of Aaron and Margaret (Conroe) Tay- lor. His paternal grandfather, Asher Tay- lor, was a native of New Jersey and emigrat- ing westward took up his abode in Gratis township, Preble county, where he worked at the weaver's trade. His son, Aaron, was also a native of New Jersey and accompa- nied his parents to Ohio during his boyhood. He learned the brickmason's trade, and also followed the occupation of farming. Dur- ing the greater part of his life he resided in Somers township, Preble county, and was recognized as one of the leading, enterpris- ing and successful agriculturists of the com- munity. He married Margaret, a daughter of John Conroe, one of the early settlers of Preble county, and they became the parents of seven children, of whom four are yet liv- ing, namely: Mary Ann, the wife of Abra- ham Van Trump, of Elkton; Caleb, who is living in Camden, Ohio; Henry J .; and James A., who is also a resident of Camden. The father of these children died in 1852, and the mother, surviving him for many years, passed away in 1871.
Mr. Taylor, whose name introduces this review, pursued his education in the local schools of Somers township. His boyhood days were passed in the usual manner of farmer lads, the work of the fields and mead- ows occupying much of his time and atten- tion. In 1879 he removed to Eaton, where he engaged in teaming until the 27th of May,
1889, when he was made the superintendent of the city buildings. In this capacity he is most faithful, giving careful supervision to all matters connected with his office. He drives the hose wagon to fires, and is in charge of that department day and night. Throughout the eleven years of his connec- tion therewith he has missed driving only two times, and on both those occasions he hitched his team to the hose cart and let his son drive. He has served as a school director and is a progressive citizen, deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community.
On the Ist of October, 1863, Mr. Taylor married Miss Elizabeth Williams, a daugh- ter of David Williams, who came to Preble county at an early period in its development. Four children have been born to our subject and his wife: Curtis, who is living in North Baltimore, Ohio; Cora, the wife of H. D. Cormier, of Oxford, Ohio; Charles A., of Eaton; and Cassius M., who also is living in Eaton. Mr. Taylor is a man well known for his reliability and fidelity and is a worthy public officer.
JOHN NISONGER.
Prominent among the representative cit- izens of Monroe township who have made their own way in the world unaided, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He is now living a retired life on section 2, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserved by reason of his industrious efforts of former years. Accom- plishment and progress ever imply labor, energy and diligence, and it was those qual- . ities that enabled our subject to rise from the ranks of the many and stand among the successful few.
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Mr. Nisonger was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, March 19, 1830, a son of George and Frana (Rasner) Nisonger, both natives of Pennsylvania. Both the pater- nal and maternal grandparents of our sub- ject are supposed to havo been natives of the same state and of Pennsylvania Dutch de- scent. His grandfather Nisonger was prob- ably a soldier of the Revolutionary war. During his boyhood the father became a resident of Montgomery county, Ohio, where he made his home throughout life, dying there at a good old age. By occupa- tion ho was a farmer and powder-maker. In early life the mother of our subject lived in Cincinnati, and at the age of eleven years went to Dayton, at which time that city con- tained but one house. She, too, spent the re- mainder of her life in Mongomery county, and died there at the age of sixty-five years, In the family were eleven children, nine of whom reached man and womanhood, but only three are now living, our subject being the youngest of these. His sister Polly is the wife of Hugh McCibbin, of Darke coun- ty; and Sallie is the widow of Levi McCib- bin and a resident of the same county.
The educational advantages of John Nis- onger were such as the public schools of this state afforded during his boyhood. The schoolhouse was built of logs, with slab seats, and a writing desk made by laying a board across pins driven into the wall. Leaving home at the age of eighteen years, he went to Dark county and engaged in farming in Twin township until 1888, when he came to this county, taking up his residence at his present home, a half mile north of West Manchester on section 2, Monroe township. He still owns a valuable farm in Twin town- ship, Darke county, which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation.
On the 17th of March, 1851, in Preble county, was celobrated the marriage of Mr. Nisonger and Miss Mary Fleagle, who was born in Harrison township, March 13, 1833, a daughter of Abraham and Isabel (Dutch- man) Fleagle, also natives of Pennsylvania and of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. They were early settlers of this county, and the parents of ten children, three of whom are now living, namely: Jane, the widow of Jonas Philips; John, a resident of Sonora, Ohio; and Mary, the wife of our subject. The last named is the youngest of the fam- ily. Her father was a soldier of the war of 1812.
Eight children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Nisonger; George, born January 17, 1852, is a farmer of Twin township, Darke county; Isabol, born September 30, 1853, died January 10, 1856; William, born January 21, 1856, resides on the old home- stead in Twin township, Darke county ; Mary J., born June 31, 1858, is the wife of Van Odle, of tho same township; Abraham, born February 28, 1861, and Perry, born Novem- ber 9, 1863, are both residents of Darke county; Delia, born June 20, 1866, is the wife of George Shofnor, of Twin township, Darke county; and Charles, born January I, 1872, is still with his parents. They also have thirteen grandchildren, eleven boys and two girls, all born in Darke county where they still reside.
Throughout his entire business career Mr. Nisonger followed agricultural pursuits, and being a man of sound judgment, good business ability and industrious habits, he steadily prospered, and succeeded in accu- mulating a comfortable property, which ena- bles him to spend his declining years in ease and quiet. He reared a largo family and provided them with good educational ad-
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vantages. Like his father, he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and he and his wife are earnest and consistent mem- bers of the United Brethren church.
GEORGE W. HANGER.
George W. Hanger, one of the success- ful and extensive agriculturists of Preble county, was born July 24, 1842, in Gratis township, upon the farm which is still his home. He represents an old German family that was founded in America at an early period in its history. His paternal grand- father was a native of Pennsylvania and re- moved to Virginia, where, in Augusta coun- ty, George Hanger, the father of our subject, was born August 17, 1793, and he came to the Buckeye state in 18II on a prospecting tour. He spent one winter on Price's creek, in Monroe township, Preble county, and then returned to the state of his nativity. As a member of a militia company he took part in the war of 1812. He was married in his na- tive state, about 1812 or 1813, to Catherine Loop, and to them were born four children, all natives of Preble county with one excep- tion, the oldest, Elizabeth, who was born in
Virginia. The mother died in February, 1828, in the prime of life, and the father was again married, September 30, 1830, his sec- ond union being with Mary Ann Shracken- gast, of Rockingham county, Virginia, a daughter of David Shrackengast, who was of Holland lineage. Unto this second mar- riage there were born two sons and four daughters, namely: Rebecca, Evaline, Jo- seph, Sarah M., George W. and Harriet C., all deceased excepting the last two.
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