Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio, Part 50

Author: Harbaugh, T. C. (Thomas Chalmers), 1849-1924, ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 882

USA > Ohio > Miami County > Troy > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 50
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 50

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

JOHN M. BASHORE, who is serving his twelfth year as a member of the Miami County Fair Board, is a substantial citi- zen of Covington and is the owner of a

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farm of 118 acres in Newton Township, which he has farmed since early manhood. He was born on a farm in Newton Town- ship, September 17, 1849, and is a son of Benjamin S. Susanna (Martin) Bashore, who were early residents of the county.

The subject of this record was reared on his father's farm two miles south of Greenville Falls, in Newton Township, and received his schooling in the district schools. After marriage he and his wife set up housekeeping on the farm he now owns, living there from November, 1871, until February, 1903, when he moved to Covington. There he purchased of his sister the fine frame house now occupied by them. He made most of the improve- ments on the farm and always engaged in general farming, following modern and ap- proved methods in his work. He always has taken an interest in the affairs of the community in which he has lived, and is progressive and enterprising. He served twelve or fourteen years as pike superin- tendent of Newton Township, and was also first elected to the fair board from that township.

May 18, 1871, Mr. Bashore was married to Miss Sarah Jane Moist, who was born near Dayton, in Montgomery County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Henry Moist. Her mother died at her birth and she was reared in the family of an unele, Abraham Moist, who lived southwest of Covington. To them was born four children-Charles, Susanna, Frederick, and one that died at birth. Susanna is the only one living. She first married. James Shoe, and their daughter, Martha Shoe, makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Bashore. Susanna formed a second union with Michael Bash- ore and they live in Missoula, Montana.

Politically, the subject of this record is a Republican. In fraternal affiliation he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.

WILLIAM HARRY GILBERT, Troy, Ohio, is one of Miami County's most prominent and successful lawyers, oeeupy- ing an enviable position at the bar of the county. He was born on a farm near Gettysburg, in Darke County, Ohio, De- cember 28, 1863, and is a son of Henry and Mary E. (Harry) Gilbert.

Henry Gilbert was born on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and ae- companied his parents in 1837 on their removal to Miami County, locating on a farm near Croft's mill, two miles west of Covington. Ile was joined in marriage January 4, 1863, with Miss Mary E. Harry, who located in Miami County with her parents when she was a young girl. They set up housekeeping near Gettysburg, in Darke County, and now reside in retire- ment at Pleasant Hill, Miami County.

William H. Gilbert is the eldest of seven children born to his parents, of whom all but the youngest grew to maturity and are still living. He was reared on the home farm and received a preliminary educa- tion in the district schools, supplemented by a short course in the normal school at Portland, Indiana, in 1884, and in the Nor- mal School at Ada, Ohio, in 1885. After leaving school he continued a systematie course of study in literature, history and the sciences, and is a man of intellectual attainments. He began teaching school at seventeen years of age, and tanght four winter terms in district schools of Darke County.

In the spring of 1886 he began prepara-

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tions for the profession of law in the offices and under the direction of Meeker, Bow- man, in Greenville. In November of that year he left the office of that firm but con- tinued study under the preceptorship of its members until October 4, 1888, when he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio. In the meanwhile he was appointed librarian of the Greenville Law Library and special court bailiff and served as such while reading law until he opened an office for practice. He con- tinued at Greenville until October, 1892, when he removed to Troy and embarked in practice. In April, 1899, he formed a partnership with Mr. L. H. Shipman, who had been a student in his office, and the firm of Gilbert & Shipman continued for ten years, enjoying throughout this sec- tion of the State a large and successful practice. This firm was dissolved by mu- tual consent.

Mr. Gilbert is now engaged in the prac- tice alone. His offices are located in the new Masonic Temple in Troy, where he occupies two suites of offices, consisting of five well appointed rooms. His office is modern in every respect, and is equipped with a large and practicable working li- brary. Mr. Gilbert employs all the help necessary to enable him to dispose of a large practice with facility and dispatch. He has had a large and lucrative prac- tice from the time he opened an office in Troy. During the seventeen years of his practice here, he has tried more cases than any other lawyer at the bar. He has been employed on one side of practically every important civil case tried in the Courts of Miami County during that pe- riod. He has been also employed in the more important criminal cases. He does

not accept employment in minor criminal cases. He has been employed in all first degree murder cases in both Miami and Darke counties, since his admission, ex- cept one. He has always appeared for the defense in the homicide cases, except in the recent case in Miami Common Pleas Court, of Forde White, charged with the murder of his father. In this case, the court appointed Mr. Gilbert to assist in the prosecution. His efforts were success- ful and White was convicted of murder in first degree. His services in this case were highly satisfactory to the public and to the court. The case rested entirely on circum- stantial evidence, and the public generally believed White's conviction was due to Mr. Gilbert's closing argument in the case.

Mr. Gilbert has devoted himself exclu- sively to the practice of the law. He allows nothing to divert his attention from the practice. He has been well rewarded for his services, and has accumulated a com- fortable fortune from the practice alone.

Mr. Gilbert is a careful, capable and conscientious lawyer, with a profound knowledge of the law and the ability to present his case to court or jury in a clear. concise, and convincing manner. He has met with more than ordinary suc- cess and enjoys the confidence and good will of the people.

November 19, 1890, William H. Gilbert was joined in marriage with Miss Vir- ginia G. Meeker, a lady of refinement and many accomplishments. She is a daughter of Hon. D. L. Meeker, of Greenville. One child, Virginia Gilbert, was born to this union on July 16, 1907. He owns and lives in one of the most substantial homes in Troy.

Mr. Gilbert is domestic in taste and de-

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voted to his family. His time, outside of business hours, is spent in his own home, in the companionship of his family.

Mr. Gilbert has never sought political preferment. He declined a nomination for Congress when twenty-eight years of age. He also declined numerous offers of political advancement since. He believes a lawyer who wishes to succeed in the practice should not permit politics to break in on his time. He believes his clients are entitled to his time and services.

Mr. Gilbert is now in middle life, and in good health. The best years of his pro- fessional life still lie before him.

REV. WILLIAM H. ALLISON. rector of St. James Episcopal Church at Piqua, is one of the most earnest and scholarly clergymen of the diocese to which he be- longs. He was born in July, 1873, in the city of New York, and was reared there and at Yonkers, New York.

After graduating with honors from Co- lumbia University, in the class of 1897, Dr. Allison entered the Berkley Divinity School at Middletown, Connecticut, where he was graduated in 1900. Following this he was ordained and for one year served as assistant rector of St. Andrew's Church at Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he became pastor of St. Mary's Church, at Detroit. where he remained for five years. He then served St. John's Church of Coving- ton, Kentucky, for one year, when he ac- cepted the call to St. James' Church at Piqua, where he has a congregation of 250 communicants. His work is appreciated and the closest ties bind him and his people.

In 1901 Rev. Allison was married to Miss Ethel L. Tillotson, of New Haven,

Connectient. He is very prominent in Masonry, being a member of Blue Lodge No. 91, F. & A. M., of Detroit; Peninsula Chapter, of Detroit ; Detroit Commandery No. 1, of Detroit ; and the Mystic Shrine, of the same city. He also retains member- ship in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon, of col- lege days, and he belongs to the Piqua Club.

WARREN HARTLE, who has been in the railway mail service for about three years, is a well known resident of Coving- ton, Miami County, Ohio, and is the owner of 110 acres of valuable land in Newberry Township, seventy acres of which is locat- ed in Section 13. and forty acres in See- tion 14. He was born on this farm Janu- ary 17, 1873, and is a son of Peter and Mary (Gilbert) Hartle, a grandson of Frederick Hartle, and great-grandson of John Johannes Hartle.

John Hartle, the great-grandfather, was a native of Zweibrücken, Pfaltz, Germany, and was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. He lived at Albany, New York, at the time of the war but afterward went to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he married. He later moved to Blair County, Penn- sylvania, when an old man and there passed away.

Frederick Hartle, grandfather of War- ren, moved from Blair County, Pennsyl- vania, some time after his marriage, to Miami County, Ohio, where he entered 160 aeres of land, of which the forty-acre tract in Section 14, owned by our subject, formed a part. All of this quarter section continues in the family name. Frederick bought additional land and became a large landowner. He died and was buried on the old farm in Newberry Township.

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Peter Hartle was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania, and was but a small boy when his parents moved to Miami County, Ohio. Here he grew to maturity and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed many years. He enjoyed a wide reputation as a carpenter, being unex- celled as a workman, and he erected many buildings, among them being the old coun- ty house and barn at Troy. He later took up farming in Newberry Township, put- ting up all the buildings on the farm, even to making of the doors and sashes. He died there in 1902, at the age of seventy- eight years, after a long and useful life. His wife survived him some two years. She was in maiden life Mary Gilbert, and was born and raised in Newberry Town- ship, a part of Covington being situated on what was the old Gilbert homestead. Her father, Thomas Gilbert, was a native of South Carolina, and from there enlisted for service in the War of 1812. He came north with his regiment and was finally discharged at Greeneville, Ohio. Being a poor boy, he decided to remain in the north and invest the pay he received for military service, in land; time proved the wisdom of his investments and he died leaving an estate estimated at $80,000. He was a very public-spirited man and was the founder of the Greenville Creek Chris- tian Church, and always liberal in its sup- port.

Warren Hartle was reared on the home farm and continued to live there some ten years after his marriage. In 1906 they moved to Covington, renting his farm property, and they have a fine liome on Wall Street. Among his cherished pos- session is a thirty-five dollar note issued by the Continental Congress to his great-

grandfather, John Hartle, in payment for military service during the Revolution. In 1896 Mr. Hartle was married to Miss Mar- garet Young, a daughter of S. F. Young, of Darke County, Ohio, and they have two children-Grace W. and Guy D. Relig- iously, they are members of the Christian Church.

I. B. PATTERSON, who lives retired from active business life, occupying his pleasant and comfortable home at No. 607 West Ash Street, Piqua, is a native of Miami County, Ohio, and was born in Spring Creek Township in 1846.

William Patterson, father of I. B., was a pioneer in Spring Creek Township, set- tling about 1820 in the woods and subse- quently clearing up a farm on which he lived until 1864. He then moved into Shelby County and died there in 1869.

I. B. Patterson was reared on his fathi- er's farm and attended the district schools through boyhood. He continued to follow agricultural pursuits until he was about forty-five years of age. He then went into the coal business, which he carried on for a few years, after which he became inter- ested in the manufacturing of staves and loops, which he carried on for ten years, in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. He then returned to Piqua and here has found con- genial friends and surroundings and has made it his permanent home. He is finan- cially interested in the Fairbanks Steam Shovel Company, of Marion, Ohio.

In 1875 Mr. Patterson was married (first) to Miss Anna Meeker, who died in 1890, leaving one son, Carl, who is a resi- dent of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1893 Mr. Patterson was married (second) to Miss Nancy Pruden, and they have three

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children-Arthur, Helen, and Ruth. Mr. Patterson and wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church. He is identi- fied with the Masons, belonging to the or- ganization at La Rue, Ohio. As a good citizen he has made his presence felt at Piqua, giving encouragment to the move- ments for bettering conditions of all kinds and contributing to charities and benevo- lent objects.

GIDEON G. UPDIKE, located on a well improved farm of forty acres in Section 34, Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio, is engaged in general farming and tobacco raising. He is a native of New Jersey, having been born near the city of Princeton, December 25, 1847, and is a son of Jacob and Johanna (Mount) Updike.

John Updike, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in 1790, and was married to Mary Updike, who was born in 1786, and, although bearing the same name, was of no blood relationship. They were parents of the following ehil- dren: Eliza, born in 1810; Johnston, born in 1811; Jacob, born in 1813; Sarah, born in 1816; Lydia, born in 1818; Pris- cilla, born in 1821; Theodore L., born in 1823; John S., born in 1825; Gideon, born in 1828; Philomen, born in 1830; and one who died in infancy.

Jacob Updike was joined in marriage with Johannah Mount, a daughter of Hezekiah Mount, and their children were: Gideon G., whose name heads this sketch; Matthew G., deceased; and Adeline, wife of Frank Vandeveer of Warren County, Ohio.

Gideon G. Updike first attended school at Cedar Grove, New Jersey, the school building being a small structure, eight-

cornered and built of niggerhead stone. Upon leaving school he worked on the home farm until he was twenty-one years old, and then came west to Carlisle, War- ren County, Ohio, where he followed car- pentering several years, working in the construction of many houses and barns in that vicinity. In 1870 he returned east and was married, but again took his trade and residence at Carlisle, Ohio. He after- ward rented a farm in that vicinity, but after some six years moved to Miami County. He farmed near Troy for six years, then rented the Kline farm near Casstown, from which he moved to the vicinity of Raper Church, where he farmed for ten years. At the end of that time he moved to the Husler farm near Troy, on which he was located nine years, and from there moved to what was known as the A. P. Barnes farm of forty acres, which he purchased of George Ralston. It is located on the Casstown Pike, three and a half miles east of Troy, in Section 34, Elizabeth Township. He follows general farming and tobacco growing, having about five acres planted to that commod- ity. He is a Republican in polities, and has always taken a progressive interest in the affairs of the community in which he has resided. He was on the school board of Staunton Township ten years. and is at the present time serving as pike supervisor.

February 16, 1870. Mr. Updike was united in marriage with Louisa Carson, a daughter of Isaac H. and Lydia Ann Car- son, and they became parents of three children, as follows: Walter G., who died in infancy: Wilber D., who married Ora De Weese, daughter of Alexander and Esterline De Weese, and has a son, Rob-

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ert F .; and Ada C., deceased wife of Larkin Hole of Piqua, by whom she had a son, Harry. Fraternally, our subject is a member of Franklin City Lodge, K. P., in Warren County. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Raper Chapel, and is a director of the cemetery.

CHARLES E. MARTIN, one of Piqua's representative and reliable business men, who is engaged at Piqua as a general cement contractor, was born June 19, 1852, at Piqua, Ohio, and is a son of Fred- erick and Louisa (Roempler) Martin.

Both parents of Mr. Martin were born in Germany, October 10, 1821, and April 10, 1822, respectively. In 1835 Frederick Martin came to Piqua, where he learned the carpenter's trade and later entered into general contracting. He married Miss Roempler, who came to America at the age of thirteen years, and they had four children, the three survivors being : George F., who resides at Peoria, Illi- nois; Henrietta, who is the wife of J. M. Hibben, who is the oldest merchant at Hillsboro, Highland County, Ohio; and Charles E.

Charles E. Martin was reared and edu- cated at Piqua, working in early manhood with his father, later engaging in general contracting and since 1884 has been con- fining himself to cement contracting, being the pioneer in the cement business in this section. He put up his own fine residence at No. 629 West Ash Street. Mr. Martin built the first concrete bridge ever erected in Miami County, the first structure of the kind he had ever built. The bridge stands across the Washington Pike about two miles south of Piqua.

July 25, 1901, Mr. Martin was married

to Miss Marietta Knight, who was born near Casstown, Ohio, a daughter of Ste- phen and Delilah Knight, her father being a member of a pioneer family. They have one son, Frederick. Mr. Martin and fam- ily are identified with the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and at- tends the lodge at Troy.

ISRAEL H. ROSENBERGER, a highly respected citizen and substantial retired farmer residing at Covington, has a large enterprise in hand in the colonization of the farmers of the Miami Valley in Col- fax, New Mexico. Mr. Rosenberger was born on a farm near Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio, on what was then known as the David Troxell farm, April 8, 1844, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Hart- sough) Rosenberger, a family of consid- erable prominence.

Mr. Rosenberger grew to manhood on the home farm, attending the country schools at first and later the High School at Findlay, after which he taught school, teaching four terms before he was mar- ried and two terms afterward. He had accompanied his parents when they moved from Seneca to Hancock County, estab- lishing the home in Washington Town- ship, seven miles southwest of Fostoria, and was living there when he entered the army during the Civil War. He enlisted at Toledo, however, from Sandusky County, in the spring of 1864, in Com- pany G, Eighty-ninth Regiment Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. His regiment was visited with a scourge of measles and fourteen members died of the disease, while Mr. Rosenberger was confined to a

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hospital, at Huntsville, Alabama, for two and one-half months, suffering from the epidemic, and barely escaping with his life.

Mr. Rosenberger was married in Oeto- ber, 1867, to Miss Margaret Ebersole, a daughter of Abraham Ebersole, a farmer of Hancock County, Ohio, and they have three children-Frank, Elizabeth and Ella. Frank is cashier of the Leipsic, Ohio, bank. Elizabeth married Morris M. Mikesell, who is vice-president and gen- eral manager of the Farmers' Develop- ment Company, of New Mexico, where they reside. They have two children, Margaret and Frank. Ella is a teacher of Domestic Science, at the W. C. A. Home at Dayton, Ohio.

Mr. Rosenberger resided on his farm in Hancock County until 1906, when he sold out and moved to Covington, where he has erected a handsome brick residence of modern construction which is equipped with furnace heat, baths and electric light. He is one of the Board of Directors of the Farmers' Development Company, owns valuable town property at Los Angeles, California, where he and wife spent two winters. He also owns one-third section near Medicine Hat, Canada. He is a member of the Brethren Church and is treasurer of the local body.

THE MAGEE BROS. COMPANY, printers, binders and engravers, at Piqua, is one of the representative business en- terprises of this city and was established in 1896 by Charles W. and Edwin R. Magee, under the style of Magee Bros., and was incorporated April 1, 1909, under the present style, with a capital stock of $50,000.

Like many other of the successful con- cerns at Piqua, this business was started in a small way, the equipment consisting of one job press operated in one room of 12 by 14 feet in dimensions. The contrast is afforded by the building now utilized, with dimensions of 110 by 64 feet, which was built especially for them as the part- ners struggled to keep abreast of their increasing trade. This building has been thoroughly equipped with all the modern machines and devices that now must be included in a thoroughly up-to-date print- ing plant, nine presses being kept con- stantly at work. Among the improved machinery may be noticed the type-setting and casting machines, which appear al- mnost human in the mechanical work they perform.

Charles W. Magee was born in Trum- bull County, Ohio, and was educated in Piqua. His life work has been the found- ing and developing of the business of which he now is president. He married Miss Edith Simon, of Piqua, and they have one son, Charles Edwin. Mr. Magec is a member of the Green Street Metho- dist Episcopal Church. He has been in- terested in all that pertains to public matters at Pigna and served four years as a member of the City Council. Frater- nally he is identified with the Elks and Knights of Pythias, and belongs to the Elks Club, and the Pigna Club.

Edwin R. Magee, vice-president and secretary of the Magec Bros. Company, was, like his brother, born in Trumbull County and educated in Piqua, supple- menting the public school course by one in a business college. He married Miss Hattie L. Tyson, of Fletcher. and they have two children, Vesta Verne and Wal-

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ter Hart. Mr. Magee is a member of the Elks, the Red Men, the Maccabees and the Elks Club. He belongs to the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church.

Otto Simon, treasurer of the Magee Bros. Company, is a native of Piqua, where he was reared and educated. Prior to entering into his present business con- nection, he was in the transfer business in this city. He married Miss Sena Phillips, also a native of Piqua, and they have one daughter, Helen. He is a member of the German Lutheran Church. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason. He has been a very active and public-spirited citizen. His public services include mem- bership in the board of review of the city of Piqua and valuable service in the city council.

JOSEPH WARREN BOWMAN, who has long been classed among the foremost citizens and business men of Tippecanoe City, is secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Dye Fruit Company, a thriving and successful concern which operates on an extensive scale. He lias been a promoter of and closely identified with many interests which have had an important bearing on the material wel- fare and advancement of the community. Mr. Bowman was born in Fredericktown, Miami County, Ohio, March 6, 1845, and comes of one of the pioneer families of the county.

Joseph Bowman, father of the subject of this sketch, was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1801, and was about nine years of age, when, in 1810, his father, Jacob Bowman, moved with his family to near Springfield, Ohio. Jacob died soon after his removal to Ohio, and Joseph

went to live with an uncle, Thomas New- man, in Montgomery County, Ohio. At the age of sixteen years he borrowed $2.50, with which he purchased a basket and a small stock of goods, and by peddling through the country was able to make and accumulate a little money. Then for sev- eral years he engaged in the Indian trade. It was his custom to purchase goods in Cincinnati and have them hauled to the headwaters of the Mississinewa River; there he would unload on the bank of the river, cut down a tree and dig out a canoe, into which he placed his goods. He floated down that stream to the Wabash, thence to the Ohio River, there being many In- dian villages and but one white man along his route. He traded with the Indians for furs and arriving at the Ohio River, made his way up that stream to Cincinnati. There disposed of his furs and laid in a stock of goods for another trip. Thus he traded with the Miami and Pottawatomie tribes for four or five years, and some time between 1820 and 1822 he started a small store in Fredericktown, Miami County. He was in business there con- tinuously for nearly half a century and became a man of prominence and affluence, owning at one time seven or eight farms besides having varied business interests. He was possessed of a pleasing person- ality and was immensely popular with his many acquaintances throughout the county. His death occurred in 1871, at the age of seventy years. He was united in marriage with Mary Sheets, who was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1808, and died in Fredericktown at the age of seventy-six years. The following children were born to them: Caroline, who was the wife of Aaron Furnace, and

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Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio, Part 50

Author: Harbaugh, T. C. (Thomas Chalmers), 1849-1924, ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co Number of Pages: 882

Author: Harbaugh, T. C. (Thomas Chalmers), 1849-1924, ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 882