Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio, Part 65

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 65
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 65

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).

spent. Ile died there at the age of sev- enty years. His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Ayers, and she was a native of Maryland. They had the following children : Charles Henry; Augusta, deceased; Eliza- beth, of Logansport, Indiana ; Julia; John, deceased; Emma, who died young; and Mary, who also died young.

Charles Henry MeCullough spent his boyhood days in Troy and attended the primitive school of that period. He has witnessed a wonderful change in condi- tions in that city, and recalls interestingly the advent of the railroad and the first use of telegraphy there. He knew the first man buried in each of the cemeteries, one of them, Elisha Harker, being a neighbor. In his early manhood he worked for five years at the tinner's trade, but after his marriage, he and his brother-in-law, Mur- ray Telford, went and worked the farm of his father-in-law, James Telford, in Con- cord Township, the latter being then de- ceased. He later bought the farm on which he now lives from James Ward, it formerly being known as the John G. Tel- ford farm. As above related, he embarked in the dairy business in 1869, and later took his sons into the partnership. He has always been an energetic and indus- trious worker and has met with unvarying success.

October 10, 1861, Mr. MeCullough was married to Nancy Telford, a daughter of James Telford, now deceased. Her father was born in Kentucky and was fourteen years old when he came to Miami County, Ohio, with his father, Alexander Telford (deceased), and the other mem- bers of the family. After locating a short time in Dayton, Alexander entered a large tract of land in Concord Township and

596

HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY

lived there the remainedr of his life. He First Presbyterian Church at Troy, of and his wife had the following children : which he is a deacon. John, Andrew, James, Finley, Mary, Nancy, and Jane. James Telford, father of Mrs. McCullough, helped to clear the home farm in Concord Township, and later came into possession of a part of the estate. Ile died on that place at the age of fifty-tive years, and the house he occu- pied so many years is still standing. He married Mary Murray, who died at the age of forty-eight years, and they had seven children : Alexander, Murray, Eliza- beth, Howe, Mary Ann, Nancy, who was born on the home farm, July 25, 1837, and is the only member of the family now liv- ing, and Hugh.

Charles H. and Naney Telford McCul- lough became the parents of five sons, as follows : Eugene T., deceased ; Heber A., of Troy; Walter G., a graduate of the Uni- versity of Michigan and at the present time engaged in the capacity of a private secretary at Washington, D. C .; George Mccullough, M. D., who graduated from the Cincinnati Medieal College and is in practice at Troy; and Frank Mccullough, D. D. S., who practices dentistry in asso- eiation with Dr. Jones, of Troy. The last named was married to Miss Bessie Mc- Knight. Dr. George Mccullough married Miss Jessie Vonbeseler. In 1864 Charles H. Mccullough enlisted as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Forty-sev- enth Regiment, O. V. I., under Captain Kelley, for one hundred days' service and was stationed at Fort Marcy, near Wash- ington. At the close of the war he re- turned to Miami County. He is a member of Coleman Post, G. A. R., at Troy. He is a Republican in politics. Religiously he and his wife are devout members of the

A. B. FRAME, M. D., one of Piqua's skilled physicians and surgeons, who has been in active practice here since 1887, is also on honored veteran of the Civil War. He was born in 1840, in Athens County, Ohio, and he was primarily edu- cated there and subsequently took a course at Marietta College. In 1862 Dr. Frame went into the army, having been mainly instrumental in raising Company I, 116th O. Vol. Inf., of which he was made second lieutenant, five months later becoming first lieutenant. Eighteen months after that he was commissioned captain and served in that capacity until the close of the war, participating in the whole Shen- andoah Valley campaign. He was honor- ably discharged in the fall of 1865. After his military service was over he entered upon the study of medicine, and in 1868 was graduated with his degree from the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati. He located at Athens, Athens County, and continued to practice there until he came to Piqua in 1887, where, in addition to at- tending to a large general practice, he is retained as surgeon of the C., H. & D. Railroad. He is affiliated with the Miami County and Ohio State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association.

In December, 1868, Dr. Frame was mar- ried to Miss Mary Elizabeth Morris, of Athens, Ohio, and they have one daughter, Mary, who is the wife of J. D. Kennedy, a well known attorney, of Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Frame is identified with the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the Loyal Le- gion and the Grand Army of the Republic and to the Piqua Club.

597

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

DORSEY WARD JAY, a leading citizen of Monroe Township, a member of the School Board for a number of years and at present also serving as township as- sessor, resides on his valuable farm of sixty acres, which lies on the Frederick and Gingham Turnpike Road and adjoins Frederick. He was born on this farm, September 6, 1861, and is a son of William and Esther (Furnas) Jay.

The Jay family was established in Mi- ami County by the grandfather, Denny Jay, who came to this neighborhood from South Carolina. He was one of the early settlers and lived here until over seventy years of age, dying in 1867. He lived to see many changes and often told his chil- dren of the hardships and disadvantages of the early days in this section. He fre- quently hauled his produce as far as C'in- cinnati in order to find a market. The Jay family originally were Quakers but later became united with the Christian Church and now almost all of the name are mem- bers of this religious body. The six chil- dren of Denny Jay were : Isaac, deceased ; Thomas, deceased, who was a Quaker preacher; Mary, now deceased; William, father of Dorsey W .; Eli, who is an edu- cator at Richmond, Indiana; and Levi, who is now deceased.

William Jay was born in Miami County, Ohio, in 1823. Hlis early life was spent in assisting his father clear up the pioneer farm, but his educational necessities were not neglected and he was sent to Antioch College and also to Oberlin University. lle then engaged in teaching school and subsequently served as superintendent of the Milton public schools for-three years. In association with his brother Eli, he built the first school building at Frederick.

Ile became a minister in the Christian Church and served as such for many years and was instrumental in raising enough money to buikl the church at Frederick, in 1878. Ilis death occurred on his farm when he was aged fifty-eight years, in 1881. He married Esther Furnas, a daughter of John Furnas, also a pioneer settler in this section, from South Carolina. She died in January. 1899, when aged seventy-tive years. They had four children, namely : Emma, who married James Leopard, of Frederick; Horace; Estella, who died in infancy; and Dorsey Ward.

Following the death of his mother, Dor- sey Ward Jay purchased the homestead farm, on which, with the exception of three years and during his absences while at- tending school, he has passed all his life. In boyhood he was entered as a pupil in a select school and later attended the public schools of Milton, going from there to the Covington High School and then spent some time at Earlham College, at Rich- mond, Indiana. In 1882 he embarked in a general store business at Frederick, which he continued until 1888, and then returned to the farm. He carries on a general farm- ing line and devotes eight acres to tobacco growing.

During his period of residence at Fred- erick, Mr. Jay was married to Miss Belle Shearer, who is a daughter of Henry and Lina ( Hurley) Shearer. Henry Shearer died in 1897, aged seventy-two years. His widow died May, 1909, in her seventy- eighth year. They had five children : The- odore H., Mary (., Ira, Elizabeth and Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Jay have one son, llarry, who married Hazel Barnes. In polities, Mr. Jay is a stanch Republican. He has served as township assessor for the

598

HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY

past six years and has long been a mem- ber of the School Board, a part of the time being its elerk. He is a Knight of Pythias, belonging to lodge No. 238, at West Milton.

PETER F. EAGLE, M. D., one of the leading medical practitioners of the city of Troy, was born near the city of Dayton, Ohio, May 2, 1850, son of David and Eliza (Reedy) Eagle. His father was for many years a prosperous farmer of Montgomery County, where he died in 1894, being fol- lowed to the grave by his wife a year later.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the parental homestead and laid the foun- dation of his education in the district schools, where he proved himself a bright pupil. In 1873 he became a student at Washington University, St. Louis, Mis- souri, where he remained for a year, aft- erwards taking up the study of medicine in the St. Louis Medical College, where he matriculated January 1, 1874. He was graduated from that institution in March, 1878. and on June 3d of that year he opened on office for the practice of his pro- fession in Troy. He has sinee remained a resident of this eity and is numbered among its ablest professional men, having built up a large and lerative practice. In politics he is a Democrat and takes an intelligent interest in all publie questions. Though devoting his chief attention to his profession. his aid and influence are not withheld whenever any public-spirited movement is set on foot for the moral or material improvement of the community. Fraternally he is connected with the In- dependent Order of Foresters, the An- cient Essenie Order, and the Elks. He also belongs to the Miami County Med- ical Association. He was married Janu-

ary 22, 1879, to Miss Mary Kline, of Troy, Ohio. He and his wife are the parents of two children-Mayme and Harry.

JAMES KERR, deceased, was in liis day one of the most prominent and suc- · cessful men of affairs of Monroe Town- ship, Miami County, Ohio, where the fam- ily has been established ever since the very earliest pioneer days. He was born on the farm adjoining the one on which his widow and sons now live, the date being Novem- ber 6, 1834, and was a son of James, Sr., and Sally (Thompson) Kerr, and a grand- son of George Kerr.

George Kerr, the grandfather, was born in Marietta, Ohio, whither his parents had located upon coming to this country from Ireland. They originally came from Scot- land. George Kerr was a young man when he came west to Miami County, Ohio, and took up his residence in the woods of Mon- roe Township, becoming an extensive land owner. He was married here and reared a large family, mostly sons.

James Kerr, Sr., was born and reared in Monroe Township, Miami County, Ohio, where he always lived and farmed. He was married to Sally Thompson, who was lost from her parents in Canada and brought to Ohio by soldiers who were fight- ing Indians. She had the reputation of being a very beautiful woman and lived to the age of eighty-four years, surviving her husband many years. He died in 1863, at the age of sixty-five years. They were parents of the following children : Hamil- ton; Hanford; George; Margaret (Sins- man) ; Thompson; William; Rebecca Ann, wife of Harvey Houston; James; John; Perry; and Sally Ann, who died at six years.

599

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

James Kerr, subject of this record, never resided over a half mile from the place of his birth. He began when quite young and did most of the clearing on the home place; he was a hard worker and always followed general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs. He prospered beyond the average and at his death owned a farm of 188 acres. He died July 7, 1884, and his many friends and acquaintances mourned his death as an irreparable loss to the community. He was much interested in Masonry, and was an active member of the lodge at Troy.

March 19, 1858, Mr. Kerr was united in marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth Me- Pherson, who was reared in Miami County, Ohio, she being a daughter of Adam D. and Rachael (Morris) McPherson. Her father was born in Clark County, Ohio, and her mother in Miami County. Mrs. Kerr was born at Logansport, Indiana, March 1. 1838, and is at present living with her sons on the old home place in Monroe Township. By her marriage she had four children, as follows: James M., who was born in Concord Township, January 15, 1859; William of Oklahoma, who married Della Westlake and has two children, Elsie and Irving ; Sherman, who was born on the present farm, November 13, 1866; and Al- bert, who was born on this farm Decem- ber 31, 1868.

James Sherman and Albert Kerr live with their mother on the home farm and carry on operations under the firm name of Kerr Brothers. They have 355 acres in Monroe and Concord Townships and fol- low general farming and stock raising on a large scale, buying largely in the Chi- cago markets. They also make a business

of loaning money at interest. The Kerr brothers were reared on the farm and at- tended the district schools. They were reared to hard work, and having the entire confidenee of their father, were taken into his business deals at an early age. They have traveled extensively over the United States, and are broad and liberal-minded men. Sherman and Albert Kerr are mem- bers of Troy Lodge, No. 110, Knights of Pythias; and West Milton Lodge, No. 577, F. & A. M. Religiously, they are members of the Christian Church.

MICHAEL MAIER, one of Covington's esteemed citizens, now living retired, for almost a half century was actively engaged in business here, conducting a carriage and repair shop for forty-eight years, and has watched the city develop from a small place. Mr. Maier was born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, March 2, 1835, and is a son of Michael and Katrina (Miller) Maier.

The parents of Mr. Maier passed their whole lives in Germany. The father held a responsible office under tlie Government, being what was termed a forest watchman, a position given only to men of intelligence and good character. Mr. Maier remembers his parents with feelings of great respect and affection, never seeing them after he was eighteen years old, when he came to AAmerica.

In his own land, Michael Maier learned the trade of wagon-making and when he reached the United States, in 1853, he eas- ily secured work at this industry in Hart- ford, Connecticut, where he remained four years. From Hartford he came to Cov- ington, in 1857, buying out a small shop which was doing business on the Troy Turnpike. Later, during the Civil War,

600

HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY

he purchased the shop of Charles M. Gross, where he carried on his trade for many years, only retiring on account of an acei- dent, in April, 1905. Mr. Maier was tem- porarily crippled by a fall that resulted in a broken leg. He then sold his shop to W. A. Reed. For many years Mr. Maier's wagon and carriage shop was a landmark and on many occasions important matters concerning the welfare of the town were discussed there by Mr. Maier and other old citizens.

In 1858 Mr. Maier was married to Miss Agnes Maria Neth, who died January 19, 1897. She was a daughter of George Neth and was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and came from there to America and to Ohio four weeks before Mr. Maier crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Seven children were born to this marriage, namely : George E., Judge E. W., John, Michael F., Charles A., Anna and Catherine. The eldest son, George E. Maier, died in 1903, aged forty- eight years. He was twice married, first to Miss Mina Pearson, daughter of Ephraim Pearson. She left one child, Harley, who is engaged in the insurance business at Troy. Judge E. W. Maier, residing at Troy, married Anna Henne, of that city, and they have one son, William. John Maier left home at the age of sixteen years and made his first visit back to Ohio some eight years later, having taken up a land claim in Nebraska. When thirty-one years old he married and has the following ehil- dren: Michael, Charles, Harley, Agnes. Robert and Anna. Michael F. Maier is a commercial traveler but retains his resi- dence at Covington. He married Mollie Goehring and they have two children : Har- man and Lula. Charles A. Maier, residing at Piqua. married Mary Reed and they

have two children, Reva and Ruth. Anna Maier married Clark Reed of Piqua. Cath- erine, the youngest of the family, married Barney Smith, who came from Wurtem- berg, Germany, when ten years of age. Mr. Maier has been identified with the Ma- sonic fraternity for a great many years and for thirty-two years was treasurer of the Covington Lodge.

DAVID C. SHAFFER, a prosperous general farmer of Bethel Township, where he lives on a farm of 132 acres of valuable land, of which he owns two-thirds and his sister one-third. He was born September 2, 1834, on his grandfather's farm, in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, his parents being John and Nancy (Reed) Shaffer.

Simon Shaffer, the grandfather of David C., was born in Berks County, Pennsyl- vania, and he came with his wife to Miami County in 1805, Joeating on a farm of 160 acres, in Bethel Township. He became a man of considerable prominence as well as substance, owning at one time some 400 acres of land (at the time of his death he had 13716 acres), building a log house and barn at first, later ereeting a frame and still later a brick house, the latter of which still stands but is not tenantable. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 and was with General Wayne's forees when the Troy and Dayton Highway was ent through. He was one of the founders of the Lutheran Church in this section. His first wife was a Miss Miller, of Berks County, Pennsyl- vania, and his second wife was Catherine Grubb, of Baltimore, Maryland. His six children were born to his first marriage, as follows: George, Elizabeth, Peter, Nancy, John and Catherine.

601

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

John Shaffer, father of David C., was born in Bethel Township, Miami Comty, September 11, 1810, and died December 27, 1888. He made his permanent home in Bethel Township, about the time of his marriage or a few years later, purchasing the home farm from his father, a tract of 13712 acres. He did some clearing and draining and built the house and barn now in use. He acquired also a farm of 160 acres in Indiana and another farm of 115 acres in the vicinity of Phoneton. John Shaffer was one of Bethel Township's most reliable and respected men and on numerous occasions his fellow citizens elected lrim to township offices. His duties were faithfully performed on all occasions. He served usefully as township trustee and for a number of terms was road super- visor. IIe was a consistent member of the Reformed Church. In his later years he was affiliated politically with the Repub- lican party. He married Nancy Reed, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Compton) Reed. She died in 1865 and was buried in Bethel Cemetery. They had eight chil- dren: Peter, David C., Isaac HI., Mary, Henry, Martha and two that died in in- fancy.

David C. Shaffer attended the district schools in Bethel Township in his boyhood and was given the advantage of one term at Heidelberg, after which he assumed farm duties and continued to help his father until his first marriage. He then settled on a farm near Phoneton and re- mained there until the death of his wife. when he returned to the homestead and has resided here ever since. During the Civil War he served ont one term of en- listment as sergeant in Company B, 147th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but

with that exception has not been away from his home for any prolonged period. Ile has not found it necessary to do much improving beyond opening up some ditches and doing a little draining. His land pro- duces well and he is numbered with the township's successful farmers.

Mr. Shaffer was married ( first) March 8. 1860, to Miss Susan Arnold, a daughter of David and Mary (Detrick) Arnold. Mrs. Shaffer died in April, 1862, and was interred in Bethel Cemetery. She was the mother of two children, William W. and Susan, the former of whom died in middle life and the latter in infancy. William W. married Sarah Houser and is survived by three children, Reynold, Anna Mary and William. Mr. Shaffer was married (see- ond) October 17, 1877, to Miss Sally B. Swain, a daughter of Charles B. and Mary L. (Davis) Swain, and they have three children, namely: Lilla and Anna, twins. and Charles C. Lilla is the wife of W. A. Hatten and they have two children, Lester and Alice. Anna and Charles C. reside at home and the latter is a member of the graduating class of 1910, at the Bethel High School. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer are members of the Reformed Church, in which he is one of the trustees. Formerly he belonged to the Grange in Bethel Town- ship but is no longer identified with that organization. He is a Republican in his political views but has never accepted any office save that of school director, in which he has served one term.

SOLOMON A. RUDY, whose excellent farm of eighty-three acres is situated in Monroe Township, on the Gingham and Frederick Turnpike, is one of the prosper- ous farmers and tobacco growers of this

602

HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY

section and is also one of the reliable and respected citizens. He was born May 2, 1871, in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of Joseph M. and Louisa (Young) Rudy.

Joseph M. Rudy was born in Bethel Township, Miami County, not far from West Charleston, on the pioneer farm on which his father, Joseph Rudy had settled when he came into what was then a wilder- ness, from Pennsylvania. Joseph Rudy had five children-Emanuel, Solomon, Ma- hala, Elizabeth and Joseph M. The last mentioned grew to manhood on that farm and helped to clear it. Shortly after his marriage he engaged in the butcher busi- ness for a short time but subsequently re- turned to his farm and followed agricul- tural pursuits all the rest of his life. Throughout Ohio and possibly through other States, there is a certain prolific wheat much in favor with the farmers and known as the "Rudy wheat." Its origin is very interesting. One day, George W. Rudy, the eldest brother of Solomon A., noticed some heads of wheat waving in the wind which seemed to have far outstripped the rest of the grain, then ripening evenly. As a matter of curiosity, Mr. Rudy gath- ered these heads, four in all, and took them to his father. The latter decided to experi- ment with them and planted them, for trial, in the garden. The result was sur- prising, the yield being far beyond that of any other specimen and several years later, Mr. Rudy had a yield of 1,736 bush- els, which he placed on the market and re- ceived for it $1.50 per bushel. It has since been called the Rudy wheat, and it was the means of adding largely to Mr. Rudy's income from his wheat lands. He died on that farm when aged sixty-eight years.

His widow survives and lives at Tippe- canoe City. She was formerly Miss Louisa Young and was born and reared in Bethel Township. They had ten children, namely : Montgomery M., George W., Anna, Lillian, Ella and Ida (twins), Joseph, Solomon A., and Flora L. and an infant, both of whom are deceased.

Solomon A. Rudy spent his boyhood days on the home farm and was educated in the district schools, spending one winter in the High School, and one term at college, at Ada, Ohio. He then took upon himself his share of the work at home and continued to live with his parents until his marriage, when he purchased his present farm from Mrs. John F. Idemiller. He found it neces- sary to do quite an amount of improving, and using good judgment in the matter, he now has a very comfortable home with substantial farm buildings of all kinds. He grows the usual grains that do well in this section and usually devotes about five acres to tobacco.

Mr. Rudy was married January 2, 1893, to Miss Lilly M. Smith, a daughter of John and Mary (Idemiller) Smith, of Monroe Township, and they have six children : Mil- dred, Emerson, Joseph, Mary, Paul and Harold. Mr. Rudy and wife are members of the Dunkard Church.

J. F. WILGUS, who owns and resides upon a valuable farm of seventy-two acres in Lost Creek Township. Miami County. Ohio, comes of an old and prominent fam- ily of the county. He was born in this township on November 7, 1860, and is a son of John H. and Dulcina (Frazee) Wil- gus, a grandson of Thomas Wilgus, and great-grandson of William Wilgus. It is an old Quaker family which was estab-

603

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

lished in this country by four brothers, who came from England during the colo- nial days.

William Wilgus, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in New Jersey, and there followed the trade of a tailor. At an early date, accompanied by his wife and children, he went with a team and wagon to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was offered a quarter section of land in what now is the heart of the city for his team and wagon, but not liking the place. he de- cided to return to his old home in New Jer- sey. He got to a point near Lebanon, in Warren County, Ohio, where he lost a horse, and as a result was obliged to spend the winter there. He liked the community so well he determined to remain, and there purchased a farm of 120 acres. There he followed his trade a few years, and farmed until his death, at an advanced age. He and his wife reared a large family.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio, Part 65

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