Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 84

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 84

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Captain Rothenbush returned to his home in Hamilton and resumed the peaceful vocations of life, though his heart and sym- pathies were still with the boys at the front until the final capitulation at Appomattox. For about two years subsequent to his dis- charge he was with his father in the grocery business. During the year 1866 he was as- sistant United States assessor, and was also United States stockkeeper from 1867 to 1869.

He was married January 16, 1866, the culmination of a tender alliance perpetu- ated through the years of warfare and brought to a happy position when he chose for his life companion Miss Ollie M. Ratliff, of Oxford. She is a daughter of Robert Ratliff, a well-known resident of Oxford at the time, but since deceased. Five children came to bless the union of Captain and Mrs. Rothenbush, four of whom are living. The

eldest is Dr. James E. Rothenbush, a well- known dentist in Hamilton. Mrs. Jennie M. Beal, of Hamilton, Clifford (deceased), Net- tie and Glenn. For many years the subject has been extensively engaged in the fruit. vegetable, seed and confectionery business. It is said that he was the first man in Hamil- ton to introduce some of the luxuries of the present time, notably the banana and other perishable fruits of tropical countries. His enterprise at first was received with some misgivings, not that the people did not ap- preciate his efforts in their behalf, but be- cause it was thought impossible to maintain an exclusive fruit, seed and vegetable market in a town the size of Hamilton. But the Captain has fully demonstrated that it could not only be maintained, but that it could also be developed into a large and lu- crative business, and such it has been, al- most from its inception. The volume of business transacted each year is a subject of comment by those who know the facts and a source of perplexity and doubt to the uninformed.

Captain Rothenbush has been ever loyal and true to his late comrades in arms and early allied himself with the Grand Army of the Republic, being a charter member of the local post, in which he is a zealous worker, always keeping in view the highest interests of the loyal survivors of the great civil strife. He is not a politician in any sense, though once or twice nominated by the minority (Republican) party for county offices, of course leading a forlorn hope. He is careful and methodical in business, up- right and honorable in all his dealings with men, public-spirited and enterprising, and withal a model citizen and valued friend and neighbor.

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FRANK P. RICHTER.

At this juncture we enter a brief record concerning one of the representative mem- bers of the bar of Butler county, where he has passed his professional life, gaining prestige and honor through well-directed ef- fort. Mr. Richter was born in the city of Hamilton on the 24th of June, 1867, and here, with the exception of his college days, his entire life has been spent. He enjoyed excellent educational opportunities in his youth and, with a natural predilection for study and an appreciation of the value of mental discipline, he made the best possible use of the opportunities afforded him. He was graduated from the Hamilton high school as a member of the class of 1885, at the age of eighteen years. Well-defined habits of study and investigation have been leading characteristics of his lifework. After leaving the high school he entered upon a course in law at the Cincinnati Law School and completed the prescribed course in 1888, standing third in a class of sixty, being at the time but twenty-one years of age. Immediately after his graduation Mr. Richter was admitted to the bar of the state and opened an office in Hamilton and en- tered upon the active practice of his profes- sion. His life has been a busy one and he has grown in professional prominence and influence until he stands well to the front rank among the members of the Butler county bar.

In 1889 Mr. Richter was elected secre- tary of the board of public affairs in Hamil- ton, and later served as secretary of the city board of elections of Hamilton for fourteen years until July 1, 1904. He interested him . self in the organization of the Butler County Bar Association, and served four years as

secretary of that body. On the elevation of Judge Giffin to the common pleas bench, Mr. Richter succeeded that gentleman as attor- ney for the Home Loan and Building As- sociation, a position he still holds. So far as political allegiance is concerned, Mr. Rich- - ter belongs to the minority party in Butler county, being an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party. He cast his first presidential ballot in 1888. By reason of his party fealty, his political aspirations have not been fully realized, as the normal political complexion of the county is very strongly Democratic. In Sep- tember, 1893, Mr. Richter was the unani- mous choice of his party for the office of probate judge and, notwithstanding the ut- ter hopelessness of the contest, he entered the race against great odds and prosecuted a brilliant and energetic campaign, the re- sults of which surprised both himself and his friends. In two wards of Hamilton he polled the highest vote ever given to a Re- publican candidate. Though defeated at the polls, as he fully expected to be, this hearty endorsement gave unequivocal evidence of his high standing in the estimation of the voters of his home city.

In February, 1894, Mr. Richter was elected second vice-president of the Ohio Re- publican League at the meeting held in Co- lumbus and in the succeeding year he was re-elected at the Cincinnati meeting. His acquaintance is extensive among the party leaders throughout the state, and thus he is brought into close touch with the official ma- chinery of the commonwealth. At the pres- ent time he is the secretary of the county executive committee of the Republican party and is one of the Republican members of the deputy state supervisors of elections of But- ler county.

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Mr. Richter descended from German have done more for the advancement of the and Irish ancestors, and he inherits in a city's interests than Frank P. Richter. He is a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 93, .Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Hamilton. marked degree the vitality and versatile mentality of the Irish race, combined with the more solid and phlegmatic ability of the German type. In the maternal line he is de- scended from one of the pioneers of Butler county. His great-grandfather, Samuel Dillon, was the first coroner of the county, PEARSON BRELSFOARD. and was a man of prominence and influence . in the pioneer epoch, while the prestige of the name has been well sustained by his many descendants. On the organization of the county in 1803, a special election was held for the election of county officers, and on this occasion Mr. Dillon was elected coroner, serving two years. In 1815 he was again elected to this office, and retired from public life in 1817. The Dillon family was founded in America in the colonial period, and has been represented in all the wars of the coun- try from the Revolution to the present day. Samuel Dillon's remains now rest near the entrance to the court house park in Hamil- ton, this park, with western High street in- cluded, having been a public burial ground in the early days.

Frank P. Richter is a man of sterling qualities of mind and heart and has won a host of loyal friends in his native country, being known as a public-spirited, active and progressive citizen. He is a strict observer of the ethics of his profession, strong in his convictions, and one whom flattery can not cajole into compromise, nor determined op- position intimidate. He is broad in his views and tolerant in spirit, and places true values upon men and affairs. He is a lib- eral supporter of all worthy enterprises, whether of a religious or secular nature. Among the young men of Hamilton none ers of Butler and adjacent counties obtained

For many years the worthy subject of this review has been identified with the his- tory of Butler county and, although retired from active life at this time, he is still an influential factor in the civic affairs of the city in which he resides and in which he en- joys in such a marked degree the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens. His ancestors in this country were among the early settlers of the old Keystone state and the family history is traceable to a remote period in the history of that com- monwealth. His father, whose first name was the same as his own, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, married in his young manhood Miss Mary Hutchin and in an early day emigrated to southern Ohio, set- tling in Cincinnati when that now flourishing metropolis was a small western hamlet of only a few hundred inhabitants. After liv- ing in Hamilton county about one year. Pearson Brelsfoard then moved to what is now Wayne township, in the county of But- ler, and, purchasing land, engaged in farm- ing and fruit growing. having been one of the first horticulturists in the southern part of the state. As soon as practicable after clearing his land, he started a nursery, which soon grew into quite a large and successful industry and it was from this that the farm-

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their supply of fruit trees for many years. Mr. Brelsfoard was one of the most efficient and successful fruit growers of his day; he took great pride in the business, obtained the finest varieties the country afforded and would permit nothing but the best stock to leave his nursery. In this way he achieved a wide and enviable reputation. He was also well known as a practical up-to-date farmer. and by close attention to his various interests and capable management succeeded in ac- quiring a handsome property and becoming financially independent. Mr. and Mrs. Brelsfoard were members of the Society of Friends and lived in harmony with the plain. simple teachings of the same. Their piety was unostentatious, but very effective in its influence; their faith strong and abiding, and no taint of anything unworthy ever attached to the good name or honorable reputation of either. Their family consisted of nine chil- dren, five sons and four daughters, six of whom are with them in the spirit land, two sons and one daughter being the survivors of the once large and happy household.

.Pearson Brelsfoard, the direct subject of this review. is a native of Butler county. Ohio, born in the township of Wayne on June 24, 1831. Blessed with God-fearing parents and excellent home influences, his mind early received those wholesome moral impressions which lie at the foundation of nearly every well-developed character, and while a mere lad he was taught the valuable lesson of honesty. integrity and industry and directed in the proper way which ultimately led to honorable manhood and a life of use- fulness. Reared on the farm, he spent the summer months as his father's faithful as- sistant in the fields and in the nursery and of winter seasons attended the country

schools until obtaining a fair knowledge of the common branches, the training thus re- ceived being afterwards supplemented by home study and general reading, which in time made him one of the best informed young men of the community. Mr. Brels- foard remained with his parents until his father's death, after which he began buying the family homestead, an undertaking he ul-, timately succeeded in accomplishing. In connection with agriculture and fruit grow- ing. he devoted considerable attention to live stock, especially horses for farm and coach purposes, and in the latter industry the greater share of the ample fortune now at his command has been realized. From the beginning of his independent career until his retirement success appears to have attended his efforts and not long after obtaining pos- session of the home place he began making additional purchases of real estate as favor- able opportunities presented themselves, un- til . his holdings in Wayne township amounted to three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, the greater part under cul- tivation and containing many fine improve- ments.

Mr. Brelsfoard's first wife was Sarah Huntsbaugh, of Indiana, who bore him a family of four sons and three daughters, of whom the following survive: Edward. a farmer and manufacturer of lumber: John . and Frank, who are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Some time after the death of his faithful wife and companion, the subject was united in the bonds of wedlock with Miss Ida Taylor, of Elkton, Ohio, who has been his true helpmeet to the present time, assist- ing him by her counsel and advice, sympa- thizing with him in all of his aspirations and undertakings, and contributing much to the

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material prosperity with which their joint efforts have been blessed.

On April 5, 1878, Mr. Brelsfoard united with Jefferson Lodge, No. 90, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, since which time he has been a zealous member of the ancient and honor- able fraternity, squaring his life according to its principles and precepts and exempli- fying its sublime teachings in all of his rela- tions with his fellow men. In politics he affiliates with the Democracy and for over thirty years was actively identified with party affairs in the township of Wayne. During that period he wielded a strong in- fluence as a worker in the ranks, as an or- ganizer and leader, served a number of years as one of the trustees of the township and also held the position of treasurer for several terms, proving in both capacities an efficient. painstaking and very popular official.

After a long, active and eminently useful and honorable career as a farmer and stock raiser, and feeling the need of the rest which only those who battle so strenuously and successfully with the world know fully how to appreciate, Mr. Brelsfoard, in 1901, moved to Middletown, where he has since lived a retired life, the meantime enjoying the fruits of his many years of honest toil. He still owns his beautiful farm and large live-stock interests thereon, attends to his business affairs with the same clear mind and sound judgment of his younger days, and, being intelligent, wide-awake, and thor- oughly progressive, keeps abreast the times on all matters of public import and is well informed relative to the leading questions of the day. In every relation of life Mr. Brelsfoard commands the confidence and es- teem of his fellow men, having always borne the reputation of a strong-minded, public-

spirited man, honorable in his dealings, up- right in conduct, and whose aim has ever been to promote the general good while ad- vancing his own interests.

FRANK P. STEWART.

This well-known business man, late of Hamilton, Ohio, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 2d day of November, 1853, and was a son of John C. and Elizabeth (Potter) Stewart, who were also natives of this county. The father was a contractor and builder by occupation and spent most of his mature years in Cincinnati. He joined the Union army in the early sixties and served about four years at the front, incur- ring disabilities in the army from the ef- fects of which he died in October, 1864, surviving but one month after his discharge. John C. Stewart was captain of Company I, Fourth Ohio Cavalry, with which or- ganization he had a brilliant and honorable military career. His wife died during the early months of his soldier life, in 1861, leav- ing three sons and one daughter, the eldest of whom was Arthur. Being but eleven years old when bereft of both father and mother, F. P. Stewart became a member of the family of his uncle, Aaron Potter, who had been engaged in the marble and granite business in Hamilton for a number of years. When Mr. Stewart was in his eighteenth year, Mr. Potter died and he suc- ceeded to the management of the business. His early training had familiarized him to some extent with the details of the work thus early thrown upon him and he engaged in the business with great activity and per-

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sonal interest. Though never possessing robust health, Mr. Stewart persecuted an active and successful business career, even in the face of violent competition. During the late years of his life the F. P. Stewart Granite Company was incorporated, with a capitalization of thirteen thousand dol- lars, and had become one of the solid manu- facturing industries of Hamilton. From the nature of the business the capital could be used and reinvested several times each year, and the volume of business transacted was very large and prosperous. With the promise of a successful future before him. and while in the prime of manhood, Mr. Stewart was stricken with disease and died on the 14th of February, 1893. One brother and his only sister had preceded him to that home whence no traveler returns.

Samuel P. Stewart, whose sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this volume, is now the only survivor of this family. He has been associated with the business for many years and, since his brother's death, has exercised . a kind of general supervision over the work. particularly in attending to outside details, in which he has proven himself very active and efficient. Frank P. Stewart left a widow and one son, the latter being born on the 2d of November. 1890. He is a bright and studious boy, bearing the family name, John Potter.

Mrs. Stewart was in maidenhood Miss Martha J. Sorber, a native of Philadelphia and a daughter of Jacob and Leanda ( Bare) Sorber, who became residents of Hamilton, Ohio, during her early girlhood years. In this city Miss Sorber was graduated from the high school in the class of 1878. She entered the ranks of the Hamilton teaching force and so continued until her marriage

with Mr. Stewart, in June, 1886. In her Sunday school work she devoted her ener- gies to the primary departments. Mrs. Stewart assumed the management of the business on the death of her husband, and was elected president of the corporation, a position which she has most acceptably filled for more than ten years. It is only just to say that the business of the firm has been greatly increased and placed upon a stable basis, thoroughly systematized, and oper- ated upon sound and honorable business principles. Much credit is due Mrs. Stew- art for the achievements of the firm in the recent past, while she modestly passes over the honors of her able assistants. The F. P. Stewart Granite Company is the principal corporation of the kind in Butler county and the output of their work reaches into dis- tant cities and states. Among their me- chanical achievements was the erection of the Pioneers, Soldiers and Sailors' Monu- ment in Hamilton. Other large contracts in monumental and tombstone work have been completed, and the high standing of this business firm gives them a deserved prestige among competitors, local and for- eign.

CONSTANTINE MARKT, M. D.

This representative member of the medi- cal profession in Butler county, where he has been long established in practice, retaining his residence in the city of Hamilton, was born in Spaichingen, in the kingdom of Wur- temberg, Germany, on the 25th of February, 1832, being a son of Karl and Mary Markt, likewise natives of that kingdom, where the

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latter died in the year 1852. The eldest of he was also very proficient in both vocal and their six children was Jacob, and he emi- grated to the United States in 1849, settling in Geauga county, Ohio, where he conducted a tailoring business and dealt in clothing. He was a valiant soldier during the Civil war and was wounded in the battle of Mur- freesboro, his injuries being so severe as to cause his discharge from the service, by rea- son of disability. He never recuperated and his death, which occurred in 1871, was the diametrical result of his injuries. He sold his business in Ohio and removed to Wis- consin, where his death occurred. The pres- ence of this son and brother in America led the aged father and his other children to consider the advantages and attractions of the new world, and in 1854 they crossed the ocean, coming to Ohio, where they made a short visit in Geauga county, removing to Painesville in the fall of that year. Of the other children we enter the following brief record: Francis J. died in 1856; Constan- tine is the immediate subject of this sketch ; Victoria became the wife of Gottleib Reif and they removed to Portland, Oregon, where he died and where she still resides ; Catherine is the widow of Frederick Spinner and resides in Iowa : and Maria Theresa died on the same day as did her brother Francis, both having succumbed to typhoid fever. The father passed to his reward in 1868, at the venerable age of seventy-four years.

instrumental music. This accomplishment proved a source of profit in enabling him to provide for the support of the family, and he found much pleasure in his musical work, but he was not satisfied to follow music teaching as a permanent vocation, aspiring to professional success as a physician and surgeon. His leisure hours were thus passed in careful technical study, under the preceptorship of Dr. Joseph B. Carpenter, of Painesville. It was not, however, until after the death of his brother and sister and the marriage of the other sisters that he could entertain the thought of entering a medical college to complete his studies. He entered the Eclectic Medical College, in Cin- cinnati, in 1856, and was there graduated as a member of the class of 1858, in which his studious habits and close application had given him high rank.

Very soon after receiving his coveted de- gree of Doctor of Medicine, the subject lo- cated in Hamilton, where he has ever since , been actively engaged in practice and where he has attained high standing in the pro- fession, building up a large and representa- tive business. He has always maintained an enviable position among his colleagues in Hamilton and has been successful beyond his most sanguine expectations. His extensive practice and close application to his pro- fessional duties so impaired his health that he finally felt compelled to withdraw largely from his country practice, which at one time required the use of three horses, and he then, about 1869, engaged in the drug business

The father of the Doctor was well ad- vanced in years when he came to America, and thereafter much of the responsibility of caring for the family devolved upon the subject, who was the eldest son at home. He, and reduced his professional labors to prac- had received an excellent education in the tically an office practice. After four years schools of the fatherland, where he was grad- of this semi-active life he turned his drug uated in one of the national colleges, while business over to assistants and again re-

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sumed the active practice of his profession, and here we find him today, with his ener- gies divided between mercantile pursuits and the practice of medicine. Though devoted to his profession Dr. Markt has found time for general reading and has taken an active · interest in political, social and religious af- fairs. An ardent Republican, he has been in the field as a campaign orator in every presidential election since 1860, though he has never sought official preferment for him- self. He has been a lifelong student and has surrounded himself with those ever loyal friends, choice books, his handsome home, at 214 South Second street, being a veritable storehouse of the best in classical and con- temporary literature of the best order. The Doctor is versatile, companionable, easy of approach, loyal to his friends, and devoted to his family and home.

On the 30th of December. 1858. Dr. Constantine Markt was married to Miss Josephine C. Carpenter. daugh- ter of his early preceptor, Dr. Joseph Brown Carpenter, of Painesville. Dr. Carpenter was born in Milton, Vermont, where he was educated and where he initiated his profes- sional career. He was graduated in Bur- lington Medical College in 1826, and came to Painesville, Ohio, in 1843, there passing the residue of his life as a prominent and successful practitioner of medicine and sur- gery. He died in 1861, at the age of fifty- five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Caroline Jackson, was likewise born in Milton, and she survived her honored hus- band by about four years, entering into eter- nal rest in 1865. On the maternal side the ancestry is traceable to the Revolutionary epoch, and Mrs. Markt is a valued member and chief official in the Hamilton chapter of

the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is also a charter member of the Chil- dren's Home Commission in this city, the same having been organized thirty-four years ago, and she has ever been an active and devoted worker for this noble institu- tion. She is a woman of culture and gracious refinement and has ever shown a deep hu- manitarian spirit and sympathy. gaining the affectionate regard of those who have come within the sphere of her kindly influ- ence. Dr. and Mrs. Markt have two chil- dren. The daughter, Addie Carpenter, is the wife of Edward Sohngen, of Hamilton, a prominent business man and leading man- ufacturer, and they have two children, Jo- sephine Markt and Elizabeth Adelaide. The son, Karl C., still remains at the parental home. He was born on the 16th of August, 1873, and has received a liberal education and is a graduate in pharmacy, a profession which he followed for several years in con- nection with his father's drug business, but he is now identified with other lines of busi- ness enterprise.

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 84

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