Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 103

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 103

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OTTO I. EHRESMAN.

Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a successful life, whatever the field of en- deavor, is none the less interesting and profitable by reason of the existence of this same uncertainty. So much in excess of those of successes are the records of fail- ures or semi-failures, that one is constrained

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to attempt an analysis in either case and to determine the measure of causation in an approximate way. The march of improve- ment is accelerated day by day, and each successive moment seems to demand of men a broader intelligence and a greater dis- cernment than did the preceding. Successful men must be live men in this age, bristling with activity, and thus the lessons of biog- raphy may be far-reaching to an extent not superficially evident. A man's reputa- tion is the property of the world. The laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the controll- ing influence of others or individually wields an influence which touches and guides or misdirects others. There can be no im- propriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public, social and business relations. If he be honest and suc- cessful in his chosen field of endeavor, in- vestigation will brighten his fame and point the way along which others may follow with like success. Not alone are those worthy of biographic honors who have moved along the loftier planes of action, but to an equal extent are those deserving who are of the rank and file of the world's workers, for they are not less the conservators of public prosperity and material advancement. Through all the gradations of life recogni- tion should be had of the true values, and then should full appreciation be manifested. In the collation of material for the bio- graphical department of this publication there has been a constant aim to use a wise discrimination in regard to the selection of subjects and to exclude none worthy of rep- resentation within its pages. Here will be found mention of worthy citizens of all vo- cations, and at this juncture we are per-

mitted to offer a resume of the career of one of the substantial and highly esteemed rep- resentatives of the agricultural interests of the county, where he has passed his entire life and where he has attained a high degree of success in his chosen field of labor and enterprise.

Mr. Ehresman, who is the manager of a fine farm located in Madison township, is a native of said section of the county, having been born on the 4th of February, 1854, and being a son of Christian and Marie Ehresman, both of whom were born in Germany. The father of our subject was born about the year 1822 and was reared and educated in his fatherland. As a young man he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America, with whose development and progress so many of his sterling countrymen have been conspicu- ously identified. He finally took up his abode in Ohio, having come to Butler county about the year 1840 and having here devoted the remainder of his life to agri- cultural pursuits, in which he met with excellent success. He was a man of invio- lable integrity and ever commanded the re- spect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. His death occurred in 1867. His wife was born in Germany. in 1826, and when she was twelve years of age her par- ents came to the United States. becoming early settlers of Butler county, where they passed the remainder of their days. Mrs. Ehresman is still living and maintains her home in Trenton, this county. Of this union were born six children, of whom five are living, the subject of this sketch having been the first in order of birth.

Otto I. Ehresman was reared to the in-

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vigorating discipline of the home farm and early began to assist in its work, while he has ever continued to find in the agricultural industry ample scope for successful en- deavor, being fully appreciative of the in- dependence and many other attractions of his chosen vocation. His educational advan- tages were such as were offered by the public schools, and he initiated his independ- ent career at the age of twenty-one years, up to which time he had been associated in the management of the home place, which still belongs to his mother. This farm com- prises one hundred and nine acres and is located in the second bottoms of the Great Miami valley, which is notable as being one of the most fertile and productive sections of the state. The family home is a substan- tial and attractive brick residence of two stories and basement, the same having seven rooms and being equipped with modern im- provements, while the other buildings on the place are in harmony with this elegant home. In politics Mr. Ehresman has been aligned as a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party from the time of attaining his legal majority, having cast his first presi- dential vote for General Hancock. His re- ligious faith is that of the Mennonite church. while his wife is a member of the Lutheran church.

On the 20th of January. 1885. Mr. Ehresman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Deuscher, who was born in Butler county, this state, February 9, 1855, being a daughter of H. T. and Ellen ( Ball) Deus- cher. Her father was born in Germany, whither he came to America with his par- ents when a boy, the family locating in But- ler county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. Mrs. Deuscher was born in Ohio.

whither her parents removed from New Jersey in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Ehresman have three children, Clarence, Victor and Herbert.

PHILIP BORGER.

One of the venerable and honored citi- zens of Madison township is the subject of this sketch, who has here maintained his home for many years and who has ever com- manded the uniform confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He is now living re- tired in his attractive home in the town of Trenton and is enjoying the rewards of his former years of earnest toil and endeavor. He still owns his farm of eighty-two acres.

Mr. Borger is a native of Germany. where he was born on the 20th of June, 1820, and he was reared and educated in his native land, where he remained until 1844, when, as a young man of twenty-two years, he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America, having be- come convinced of the superior advantages here offered for the attaining of success and independence through individual effort. He came forth to Butler county, and later re- moved to the city of Cincinnati, where he worked at the butcher's trade for three years, at the expiration of which he returned to Butler county and was here in the employ of others for two years. He then engaged in business on his own responsibility, taking up his residence in the village of Trenton, where he continued to be engaged in the butchering business until his retirement, about a decade ago. His farm is a valu- able property. is improved with good build-

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ings and is under a high state of cultivation. In politics Mr. Borger is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, of which he has been a member from his child- hood days. Mrs. Borger also was a devoted member of the same church and was a woman of noble character and gracious pres- ence, endearing herself to all with whom she came in contact.

In the year 1850 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Borger to Miss Christina Dasher, who was born on a vessel on the Atlantic ocean, in 1832, her parents being at the time en route from Germany to Amer- ica. She was a daughter of Michael and Christina Dasher, who first settled in Penn- sylvania, whence they came to Butler county about 1833. being numbered among the early settlers of Madison township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Borger was summoned to the life eternal in 1895. and her memory remains as a benediction to all who came within the sphere of her influence. Mr. and Mrs. Bor- ger became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living except Elizabeth. who died at the age of two years. The names of the others are as follows: Mina, Henry, Jacob. Philip, Jr .. Anna and Charles.

JAMES MACREADY, M. D.

Throughout Butler county Dr. Macready is known and honored as a successful and skilled physician and surgeon and loyal and influential citizen, having been actively en- gaged in the practice of his chosen profes- sion in the attractive little city of Monroe

for two score years and having gained the confidence, esteem and affectionate regard of the people to whom he has ministered so unselfishly and effectively during this long interval. He has those inherent attributes so essential to the maximum of success in his chosen calling, being sympathetic, pa- tient and cheerful, while in the hour of ex- tremity he is cool and courageous, having the power of making sympathy a motive as well as an emotion. Though his large prac- tice has engrossed so much of his time and attention he has not failed to keep pace with the advances made in the sciences of medi- cine and surgery and has availed himself of the remedial agents and various methods of advanced surgery which have done so much to lighten the burden of human suffering and to prolong life. The Doctor was in active service as a surgeon in the Union army during the Civil war, and he has ever been found at the post of duty in his private labors, as was he during that climatic era in the history of the nation. As one of the representative members of his profession in the county we are gratified in being able to present in this work a brief review of his career.

The Doctor is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born in Warren county, on the 17th of March, 1835, and being a son of John and Mary (Hart) Macready, both coming of stanch Irish stock, though the respective families were early established in America. The father of the subject was born in the state of Pennsylvania, in the year 1808, and while an infant was brought by his parents to Ohio, the family settling in Columbia, which is now an integral part of the city of Cincinnati, and in this state he was reared to manhood, becoming a suc-

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cessful farmer of Warren county, where the Union army, being appointed assistant both he and his wife died when the subject of this sketch was a lad of about six years. there having been three children in the fam- ily, all of whom are living. The mother was born in Warren county, in 1814, and her death occurred on the 27th of March, 1841.

After the death of his parents Dr. Mac- ready was taken in charge by his paternal grandparents and was reared to manhood in their home, his grandfather having been a successful farmer of Warren county. Dur- ing his boyhood days he assisted in the work of the farm, while his preliminary educational discipline was secured in the district schools. Later he continued his studies in Mainville Academy, and there- after was a student for one year in Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. In 1901 his alma mater conferred upon him the honor- ary degree of Master of Arts, in recognition of his professional prestige and advanced in- tellectual attainments. The Doctor was to a very large extent dependent upon his own resources in defraying the expenses of his literary professional education, and it stands to his credit and honor that he fixed a definite aim and never swerved until he had attained the desired object. He took up the study of medicine under private instruction of the late Dr. Joshua Stevens, of Lebanon, Ohio, in the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1859. He initiated the active practice of his chosen profession by locating in Bethany, Butler county, where he continued his labors until there came the call to higher duty, when the dark cloud of civil war spread its gruesome pall over the national horizon. In 1863 he enlisted in

surgeon of the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued to serve until the regiment was mustered out, on the 26th of June, 1864. Soon after the close of his service in this connection Dr. Mac- ready took up his residence in Monroe, where he has ever since been actively en- gaged in the practice of his profession and where his services are retained by the lead- ing families of this section of the county. He has ever shown a lively interest in local affairs of a public nature, and has been specially influential in promoting the cause of education, having been a school officer of his district consecutively since 1878. He has taken part in furthering the interests of the political party with which he has ever been affiliated, being a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor. The Doc- tor is identified with the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society, the Warren County Medical Society, the Butler County Medical Society, the Union District Medical Society and the Society of United States Pension Examining Sur- geons, being a member of the board of pen- sion examiners for Butler county at the present time. He is not apathetic in his al- legiance to the various bodies, but takes an active part in their deliberations, and is especially alert in availing himself of the ad- vantages thus afforded for conference and discussions with his professional con- freres. He is past grand of Miami Lodge, No. 89, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. and a charter member of Hill City Lodge. No. 571, Knights of Pythias.

On the 8th of May, 1860, was solem- nized the marriage of Dr. Macready to Miss

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Sarah Elizabeth Keyt, who was born in Il- linois, on the 15th of May. 1837, being a daughter of Edwin Keyt. She secured her education in the schools of the city of Cin- cinnati, and was a teacher in the public schools of that place at the time of her mar- riage. She became specially accomplished in music, and her children have all inherited talent in this pleasing line. Of the four children of Dr. and Mrs. Macready we enter brief record as follows: Edwin Keyt, who was born on the 6th of October, 1862, died on the 8th of February, 1864. Etta De- Camp, born September 16, 1866, was mar- ried to D. E. Voorhis, September 16. 1889, and they reside on a farm near Monroe, hav- ing two children. John Hart was born January 5, 1868, and was graduated in Miami University as a member of the class of 1889, while in 1892 he was graduated in the Ohio Medical College, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, being now engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Cincinnati. On the 5th of January, 1895. he was married to Miss Caroline Curlis. Charles Foster, who was born October 28, 1879, was graduated in Miami University as a member of the class of 1902, and is now a student in the Miami Medical College, where he will be graduated in 1906. Mrs. Macready died February 23, 1897.

GAY BEVIS.

Although a young man, the subject of this review occupies a prominent position among the representative business men of Middletown. and as a member of an im- portant manufacturing firm has won an hon-

orable reputation not only in the industrial circles of the city, but throughout the state. Few of his age and experience have so im- pressed their individuality upon the public. none stand higher in the esteem of their fellow men and in view of his achievements it is eminently proper to bespeak for him a continuance of the useful and worthy ca- reer which has characterized his life to the present time. Gay Bevis, son of M. V. and Mary H. (McLean) Bevis, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 23, 1874, be- ing the sixth of a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, all living. M. V. Bevis, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio a number of years ago and settled in Cincinnati, where he devoted a considerable part of his life to mechanical pursuits, being a wood-worker by trade. He was. a skilled artisan, provided well for his family and reared his children to useful pursuits, the majority of whom are comfortably situated and much esteemed in their respective com- munities.

Gay Bevis spent his early years in his native city and after obtaining a good edu- cation in the public schools of the same, taught one term in Butler county, at the close of which he became bookkeeper in a printing office. After filling this position for some time, he turned his attention to the printer's trade and in due season mas- tered the same, following which he engaged with the managers of the office and spent the ensuing four years in their employ.

In the year 1899 Mr. Bevis purchased an interest in the Blair & Shartle manufactur- ing plant at Middletown, and became man- ager of the same, the name of the firm after his admission being changed to that of the Bevis & Shartle Machine Company. The

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concern, which now is one of the leading industries of the city, makes all kinds of machinery and appliances used in the manu- facture of paper, 'and from a small begin- ning has steadily grown until it stands among the largest and most successful estab- lishments of the kind in southern Ohio. The plant covers a large space of ground, is supplied with the latest and most valuable machinery and the demand for its product is such that its capacity is taxed to the ut- most to meet the same, from twenty to thirty skilled workmen being constantly em- ployed, at wages aggregating from two hundred and sixty to three hundred dollars per week. In the management of this im- portant and steadily growing enterprise Mr. Bevis demonstrates executive and general business ability of a high order, and to his deep interest and masterly oversight may be attributed a large measure of the remark- able success which has characterized the establishment ever since he became identified therewith. His sound judgment, practical experience and ability to master details have tended greatly to enlarge and extend the scope of the company's operations and influence, and under his efficient leadership it is destined at no distant day to take a distinctly leading place among the represen- tative industrial establishments in the south- ern part of the state.

In politics Mr. Bevis is an earnest advo- cate and unflinching supporter of the Re- publican party, but has never manifested an iota of political ambition in the seeking of official preferment. In the domain of citi- zenship he discharges his duties worthily and well, and with due regard to the best interests of the public : as a neighbor he is kind and generous, thoughtful of the good

of others, and his genial and gracious per- sonality has won to him warm and enduring friendships, which are held inviolable.

In the year 1896 Mr. Bevis was united in the holy bonds of wedlock with Miss Mary Cannon, of Cincinnati, and his home is now enlivened by the presence of three little daughters, who answer to the names of Blanch. Mary and Martha.

JOSEPH JOHN PATER.

Joseph J. Pater, the subject of this sketch, was born in Hamilton April 9, 1858. on South Front street, where his parents owned several acres of land, on which they raised vegetables for market. His parents were Gerhard and Mary Pater. thrifty Ger- mans, respected by all who knew them. His father was born at Merzen. in the kingdom of Hanover. Germany, on the 15th of August. 1826, and emigrated to America in June. 1850. Gerhard Pater died in this city January 6, 1871. from pneumonia. aged forty-five years, and his death was regretted by his many friends. He was a devout Catholic and one of the original members of St. Joseph's congregation. He was known for his strong will and force of char- acter. and was upright in all his dealings with his fellow men.

The mother of Mr. Pater, whose maiden name was Mary Stricker. was born at Damme. Oldenburg. Germany. December 22. 1821. After landing on American soil. she made Cincinnati her home for several years, and there married Gerhard Pater. Later they moved to Hamilton, where she died February 20. 1886, at the age of sixty-

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JOSEPH J. PATER.

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five years. She was endowed with a won- derful memory. It was a pleasure to hear her relate events which happened many years back with as much accuracy as though they happened but yesterday. She was of a kind and charitable disposition and a faith- ful worker in all charities. Her family was known for longevity. Her grandmother died at the age of one hundred and two years and her grandmother's sister at the age of one hundred and five years.

Joseph J. Pater was the eldest of five children. Two sisters, Josephine and Eliza- beth, died when very young. His other sis- ters are Philomena, Mrs. Joseph Schu- maker, who was born February 26, 1860, and Catherine, Mrs. George Deinzer, born January 23, 1862. died April 10, 1902. Mr. Pater attended St. Joseph's parochial school until thirteen years old and was then sent to St. Mary's Institute. Dayton, Ohio, where, he graduated with high honors. He later on took a course of classics to prepare himself for the medical profession. For some time he read medicine with Dr. Dan Millikin. but later abandoned his studies and took a position as teacher in St. Joseph's school. where he taught five years with success. April 20, 1882, he was married to Miss Annie M. Endress and their union was blessed with five children. Carl. Alphonse. Eugene, Mary and Louise.

In all city affairs Mr. Pater has taken an active interest and never misses an op- portunity to boom its material interest. In politics he is a stanch Democrat and was elected twice as a member of the board of water works trustees. He was for four years a member of the board of control. which board had absolute control of the af- fairs of the city. He was a candidate in

1902 on the Democratic ticket for state board of public works.

He was the first state president of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, which insurance organization was organized in this city. He was an untiring worker for the good of the order and its fine success at present is due to his ability as an. organizer and the un- selfish services rendered to the society. After being organized six years the society num- bered one hundred branches and four thou- sand five hundred members. Today the Catholic Knights of Ohio is one of the best fraternal insurance societies in the state.

But the monument which he has erected to his memory and which will be as endur- ing as time itself is Mercy Hospital. For many years he strove to establish a hospital in Hamilton, but as the various religious orders who have hospitals in Cincinnati had no Sisters to spare. he was continuously put off with promises for the future. In 1892 he called on Archbishop Elder and explained to his Grace the necessity of a hospital in Hamilton. The following day the Arch- bishop telegraphed Mr. Pater that the Sis- ters of Mercy woud accept and conduct a hospital at once. These good sisters arrived a few days later and opened a hospital on Dayton street, where the present new hos- pital is being built. It is open to all creeds and, nationalities and will forever be kept out of the turmoil of politics. The hospital was opened October 5. 1892, and to No- vember 22, 1904. when the new hospital was dedicated to suffering humanity and charity. there were received and treated two thou- sand four hundred and twenty-three pa- tients, of whom one thousand seven hun- dred and thirty-four entirely recovered, four hundred and fifty-two materially improved

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and two hundred and thirty-seven died, which includes those who met with fatal ac- cidents and were brought to the hospital in a dying condition. This record speaks for itself, but also shows the necessity of a hospital in our community. The Sisters are experienced nurses from the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Pater was a director from the in- ception of the hospital and chairman of the building committee, which erected the pres- ent magnificent building, one of the finest and most complete hospitals in the state. He was the active chairman of the soliciting committees, for both the old and the new hospitals, which collected over twenty thou- sand dollars, donated by the citizens of Hamilton. His love for charity, the firm- ness of his character, and the fidelity with which he clings to what he believes is right, and for the good of the community has justly won for him the respect of his fellow citizens.

JAMES G. GRAFFT, M. D.

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 103

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149