USA > Ohio > Miami County > Troy > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 73
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 73
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David R. Snowberger was born in Pen- sylvania and when twenty-four years of age, in 1866, he came fo Darke County, where he lived for one year and then se- eured a farm in Miami County, situated four miles north of his present one. He married Lydia E. Cassel, who was born at Greenville Falls, where her father, Michael Cassel, then lived. Subsequently he moved to Newberry Township, Miami County. settling on the present farm of Oliver II. Snowberger, which contained 160 acres. David R. Snowberger and wife continned to reside on this farm during their active lives, retiring then to Covington. where Mrs. Snowberger still lives. David R. Snowberger died at Covington. April 13, 1907. They had four children: Oliver II .; Mary C., who is the wife of Charles Min- nick, resides on a half of the homestead farm; and Andrew and Eher, both of whom died in infancy.
Oliver H. Snowberger has spent the larger part of his life on his present farm. in faet all of it with the exception of three years when he lived in North Dakota. He obtained a district school education. For six years following his marriage he con- tinued on the old farm, but in 1902 moved to North Dakota. Circumstances caused him to return to the okt place, in New- berry Township. This farm is well im-
proved with excellent buildings, a set on each eighty acres, these houses and barns having been built by David R. Snowberger.
On February 27. 1896. Mr. Snowberger was married to Miss Viola Pearl Deeter. a daughter of Aaron H. and Sarah Angeline ( Myers) Deeter. Her father still survives and resides in Newton Township, but her mother died when she was six years old. Mrs. Snowberger was born in Newton Township, on a farm three miles southeast of Covington. Mr. and Mrs. Snowberger have two children : Glenn H. and Joyce D. The family belongs to the Church of the Brethren.
JOHN M. KNOUFF. who has been a val- ued member of the Washington Township School Board since 1903, resides on his valuable farm of eighty aeres, which is situated in section 34, on the county line road, five miles northwest of the Council Honse. in Piqua. He was born on a farm in Harrison County. Ohio. November 21, 1853, and is a son of George and Lettie Ann (MeKelveen) Knouff.
George Knouff was a native of Penn- sylvania and was a son of Jolm Knouff, who brought his family to Harrison Conn- ty. Ohio, where George Knonff was reared to manhood. He married Lettio Ann Me- Kelveen, a daughter of Thomas MeKel- veen. of Scotch-Irish extraction. In 1557, they moved to a farm in Newberry Town- ship. Maimi County, south of Covington, and a few years later to a farm south of Pleasant Hill, on which they lived for two years, and then bought eighty acres in Washington Township, on which farm both George Knouff and wife died. They had tive children, all of whom, except the youngest, were born in Harrison County,
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
his birth taking place after the family set- tled in Newberry Township, Miami Coun- ty. The children were: Jennie, who is the widow of Thomas L. Drake; Susan, who is the wife of George Mowry, residing in Tennessee; Mary, who is the wife of Matthew Hearst, living in Staunton Town- ship, Miami County ; John M .; and Joseph C., who is a prominent farmer in Washı- ington Township.
John M. Knouff was four years old when his parents settled in Newberry Township and his whole life has been passed on a farm and his main interests have been connected with agricultural pursuits. In 1895 he came to hiis present farm and immediately began improving it, erecting his fine residence, with sub- stantial barn and farm buildings and mak- ing it a very valuable property. Mr. Knouff was married October 13, 1892, to Miss Ida Lyon, who is a daughter of Jehial and Nannie (Morrow) Lyon and was born in Spring Creek Township, Miami County. They have three children: Elva, Marie and Lester. Mr. Knonff is one of the township's representative citizens.
EDWARD S. COX, postmaster and general merchant at Lena, in Miami County, Ohio, has a large and well estab- lished business and comes of one of the oldest families of the community. He was born in Lena, in 1863, and is a son of Dr. W. S. and Nancy L. (Duncan) Cox.
Dr. W. S. Cox was born in Brown Town- ship and after completing the prescribed course in the public schools there, entered ·Cincinnati College of Medicine, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. Upon leaving that institution, he first en- gaged in practice at Plattsville in Shelby at Conover.
County, Ohio. From there he moved to . Lena, where he practiced with uninter- rupted success for a period of forty-five years, his death occurring there in 1898. He was married to Nancy L. Duncan, who was born near Fletcher, in Miami County, and they became parents of six children, as follows: Amanda (Brantner) of Conover; Lorilla (Johnston), a twin, who lives at Monroe, Michigan; Charles, twin of Lo- rilla, who died aged four years; Edward S .; George S., who lives at Lena ; and Ar- minta (Wolcott), deceased.
Edward S. Cox attended the public schools in Brown Township and the Piqua High School, of which he is a graduate. After leaving that institution he clerked for Joseph Frazier at Conover two years, after which he carried on operations on his father's farm for five years. At the end of that time he bought out the store of S. G. Frazier at Lena, and has been in business there continuously for seventeen years. He carries a large and complete stock of gen- eral merchandise, including everything for which there is a demand in a small place, and enjoys a fair share of the patronage of the community. He has been postmaster at Lena for ten years, and has discharged the duties of that office with marked effi- ciency.
Mr. Cox was united in marriage with Mary Brecount, a daughter of A. and Sarah Brecount of Brown Township, and they have a daughter, Maude, who is the wife of Howard Weaver of Troy. Politic- ally, he is a Republican. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge at Lena, the Chapter at St. Paris, and the Conneil at Troy. In religious attachment he is a member of the Universalist Church
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HENRY D. APPLE, a leading citizen of Newberry Township, the owner of the fine seventy-five acre farm on which he lives and which lies one and one-half miles southwest of Bloomer, was born on a farm in Darke County. Ohio, west of Versailles, June 23, 1860, and is a son of Solomon and Eve Lavina (Gephart) Apple.
When Mr. Apple was six years old his parents moved to a farm in Newberry Township, Miami County, and there he was reared. On August 7, 1880, he was mar- ried to Miss Sarah A. Rhoades, a daugli- ter of George and Matilda (Erisman) Rhoades. The parents of Mrs. Apple were born and married in Montgomery County, Ohio. and prior to Mrs. Apple's birth, they moved to a farm in Shelby County, two miles north of Mr. Apple's farm. There she was born and grew to womanhood, and there her parents still reside. The children of George Rhoades and his wife are: Mrs. Elizabeth Voisard, Mrs. Laura Moshier, John, of Dayton; Mrs. Sarah A. Apple, William, of Bloomer; George, of Preble County; Mrs. Mary Oda, Mrs. Lueinda Martin and Peter Monroe, residing at Bloomer.
Mr. and Mrs. Apple went to housekeep- ing on the Apple home farm, where they lived for five years, and then moved to the present place. Here Mr. Apple has done a large amount of improving. In 1903 he erected his large frame residence, one of great comfort, and in 190S he built his sub- stantial barn, the dimensions of which are 40x80 feet, with an ell of 30x24 feet, a cement floor being laid all through. This is one of the best and most sanitary barns in the township. Mr. Apple earries on general farming, bnt makes raising of fine stock something of a specialty. For twenty
years he has also been in the threshing business and for the past eight years has owned his own outfit. He is a very thor- ongh, practical business man and all liis industries are so planned that they never interfere with each other.
Mr. and Mrs. Apple have one child, Wal- ter Monroe, who was born September 11. 1883, on the old Solomon Apple farm. He is the very capable manager of the home farm at the present time. Ile married Flora M. Brown, a daughter of Reuben and Amelia (Wagaman) Brown. Mr. AApple and family are members of the Lutheran Church.
WILLIAM B. BROWN, whose well im- proved farm of 152 acres lies one mile north of Fletcher, in Brown Township, Miami County, was born in Lost Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, Septem- ber 19, 1833, the oldest child of S. K. and Mary (Ralston) Brown.
The Brown family was a pioneer one in Miami County and one of such importance as to leave an impress on this section, giving its name to the township and to a number of local points. It was founded by the grandfather, William Brown, who entered the land from the Government which now forms the farm of his grandson and namesake. He was a pioneer in all the enterprises that went to building up this section and lived a long and useful life.
S. K. Brown, father of William B., was born in Clark County, Ohio, but was reared from childhood in Lost Creek Township. After marriage he moved to an adjoining farm, on which he lived for seven years, his wife dying there. In 1844 he removed to Paulding County, and in 1847 to Oregon, and lived in the far West until his death.
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
He married Mary Ralston and they had four children.
William B. Brown accompanied his father to Oregon, being fourteen years old at that time, and after reaching that Ter- ritory, attended school for a short time. In 1866 he returned to Ohio and located on the old homestead but worked by the month for some three years before he took com- plete charge of the farm, since which time he has made the excellent improvements which include the erecting of a comfortable residence and a substantial barn. He grows grain, hay and fruit and raises enough stock for his own use. Mr. Brown married Miss Lou Brown, who is a daugh- ter of Jolin M. Brown, of Miami County. They are members of the Presbyterian Church. In polities he is identified with the Democratic party. He is one of the reliable and representative citizens of Brown Township.
JOHN JONES, a well known citizen and dairyman of Washington Township, Miami County, Ohio, resides on a farm of 191 acres located about three miles north of Pigna on the Hardin pike and is an exten- sive land owner in the county. He has been a resident of the township and located on his present farm for more than half a century. He is of Welsh descent but was born in Dauphin County, Penna., Septem- ber 28, 1830. He is a son of Josiah and Catharine (Alaman) Jones, his father a native of Delaware, and is a grandson of James Jones, who came to this country from Wales.
John Jones was reared on a farm in Dauphin County, Penna., and received but little schooling. He was very young when it became necessary for him to make his
own way in the world, and with the thrift characteristic of the Welsh race he worked and saved until he became a man of afflu- ence. In 1858, some seven years after his marriage, he moved west to Miami County, Ohio, the earnings which he had saved up to that time amounting to $2,500. He pur- chased ninety acres of his present farm in Washington Township, and has added to it until it now consists of 191 aeres. He and his sons own some 714 acres of land in the county, all well improved and under a high state of cultivation. A farm of 206 acres in Spring Creek Township, probably the best farm in the township, he pur- chased for $18,584 in eash, and ereeted thereon a new house at a cost of $2,500, in which his son William now lives. To work has been a habit with him, and although advanced in years, he would be discon- tented if his time was not employed to ad- vantage. For the past twenty-five years he has conducted a dairy route in Piqua, and has the unique record of missing but one day on the route in eleven years. He has been prominently identified with the progress and development of Washington Township, and for seventeen years served as a member of the School Board.
When twenty years of age, John Jones was married to Louisa Wagner, whom he survives, her death occurring December 31, 1893. They became parents of the fol- lowing children : Elizabeth, wife of Josiah Wilkinson, of Piqua; Henry, who lives in Shelby County, about one mile north of the home of his father; Mary, wife of Jolm Thompson of Shelby County; William, who lives on the farm before mentioned in Spring Creek Township; Laura, who lives at home; Josiah, who died leaving a wife and children; John, deceased, who was a
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
prominent farmer of Washington Town- ship; Emma, who died in childhood; and Lonisa, who also died in childhood. Re- ligiously, Mr. Jones is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
GEORGE L. DU BOIS. a representative citizen and general farmer of Washington Township, residing on a valuable farm of eighty-seven acres, which is owned by his mother, Mrs. Laura An (Howe) Du Bois, was born in Spring Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, November 5. 1872. and is a son of William T. and Laura Am (Howe) Dn Bois.
William T. Du Bois was born near Franklin, Ohio. and died at Piqua, Feb- rmary 26, 1902. He was a son of William Du Bois, who bought a farm in Washing- ton Township, on the Clayton turnpike, on which he died. William T. Du Bois spent his life in Miami County. Hle married Laura Ann Howe. a daughter of Alexander Howe, who was a farmer and also at one time captain of a canal boat. Mrs. Du Bois was born at Piqua. where she still resides. They had three children, namely : William. residing at Piqua, where he is assistant cashier of the Piqua Savings Bank; and Alexander and George L .. both of Wash- ington Township. In the latter's boyhood, William T. Du Bois and wife moved to Washington Township, where he owneil three farms aggregating 217 acres and was one of the leading men for a number of years. In June, 1901, he retired from active life and moved to Piqua, where he resided until his death in the following February.
George L. Du Bois was reared and edu- cated mainly in Washington Township and has devoted his entire mature life to agri-
cultural pursuits. The farm on which he resides is situated four miles west of Pigna. on the old Piqua-Carrington road. It is a valuable tract of land and under the careful management of Mr. Du Bois pro- duces abundantly. After marriage he set- tled on the homestead with his parents. In 1895 Mr. Du Bois married Miss Annie Wetzel, who is a sister of the wife of his brother Alexander and a daughter of John and Caroline (Thoma) Wetzel. The par- ents of Mrs. Du Bois were both born and reared in Germany and came to America on the same steamer, being married a year later. Mr. Wetzel still survives and re- sides in Washington Township. but his wife died October 18, 1886. They had seven children as follows: Charles, who died when aged one year; Frances, who is the wife of George Bansman, of Washing- ton Township; Mary, who is the wife of Harley Mowery, of Pigna; Lewis, who re- sides in Washington Township; Lena. who is the wife of Alexander Du Bois, and Charles, a twin brother, who lives in Wash- ington Township; and Annie, who is the wife of George L. Du Bois. Mr. and Mrs. Du Bois have one son, Stanley Edgar. They are members of the Christian Church. Hle belongs to the order of Knights of Pythias, having passed all the chairs in Stillwater Lodge at Covington, Ohio.
D. (. JOHNSON, a substantial citizen of Newberry Township. Miami County, Ohio, owns and resides upon a farm of 180 aeres located on the Troy Pike, about one mile southeast of Covington. He has lived on this farm since September 2. 1556, hav- ing at that time moved from Wayne Town ship. Montgomery County, Ohio, where he was born. The date of his birth is Feb-
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
ruary 26, 1831. and he is a son of Joseph and Mary J. (Stoker) Johnson. His father was a native of Virginia and became a prominent farmer of Wayne Township, Montgomery County, whither he moved in his early days.
D. C. Johnson was the youngest of thir- teen children and was but two years old when his father died and thirteen at his mother's death. Ile went to live with Squire Thomas Crook, father of General George Crook, who attained distinction in the Union Army during the Civil War. He and General Crook were reared to man- hood together, and he continued to live at the Crook home until his marriage in 1852. Ile and his wife set up housekeeping on a farm of seventy-five acres in Wayne Town- ship, which he owned, but in December of the same year moved to a farm one mile east of his present farm in Newberry Township, where he bought eighty acres. After three years he moved back to Wayne Township, Montgomery County, where he remained one summer. He then purchased 160 acres of his present farm, to which he later added twenty acres; a brick house had been erected on the place in 1852, which he has since more than doubled in size and improved in every way. He has other good substantial buildings on the place and one encounters few farms so well improved. He and his wife own a sixty- acre farm about a mile east of their home, which is farmed by their son, Henry John- son.
thews) Brenner. The following children were born to them: Sarah Ann, who died December 31, 1856, aged two years, ten months and twenty days; Henry, who was first married to Emma Kaufman (de- ceased), and second to Mary Dick; Jacob, a blacksmith of Covington, who married Lucy Dickey and has a daughter, Mary; William Clement, who married Henrietta Kruse, by whom he had a daughter, Clara, now deceased; and Oscar, who married Viola Landis and has two children living, Oscar Millison and Ferril Amanda. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had fifty-seven years of married happiness, and are living in the enjoyment of comparative good health.
ROBERT F. GRAHAM, who has been a resident of Washington Township, Miami County, Ohio, since his early boy- hood, with the exception of three years spent in the Union Army, is a farmer by occupation and has been active in the af- fairs of the community. He has been espe- cially prominent in advancing the cause of education, and has been on the School Board for more than thirty years.
Mr. Graham was born about seven miles north of Enniskillen, in the north of Ire- land, on the Sabbath Day, January 20, 1833, and although of Irish birth is of Scotch and English parentage. He is a son of William and Jane (Johnston) Gra- ham, and was abont six years of age when his parents, in 1839, emigrated to the United States. They first located at Pitts- burg, Penna., for the winter, and in the spring of 1840 moved west to Shelby County, Ohio. Two years later they set- tled in Washington Township, Miami
On March 18, 1852, Mr. Johnson was joined in marriage with Mary Jane Bren- ner, who was born about seven miles north of the court-house in Dayton, in Wayne Township, Montgomery County, and is a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Ann (Ma- County, Ohio, where William Graham be-
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
came the owner of a farm of eighty-five aeres on the Covington Pike.
Robert F. Graham was reared on the home farm and early turned his hand to farming pursuits. He remained at home until he answered his adopted country's call to arms, enlisting September 8, 1861, for three years' service as a member of Company K. First Regiment, Ohio Volun- teer Infantry. He was in all of the engage- ments of his company. and although he saw much hard fighting. was never wounded nor captured. Ile was honorably discharged at Chattanooga, Tenn., September 8, 1864. He then returned home and resumed farm- ing operations, at which he has since con- tinued. HFe has been located on his present farm since 1876 and has a well improved property. He is a man of sterling ability and has a host of friends and acquaint- ances throughout this section of the country.
October 13, 1864, Mr. Graham was united in marriage with Miss Martha Jane West, a daughter of James and Jane (Me- Corkel) West, and they became parents of eight children, as follows: William J., who died in 1888. leaving a wife and one daughter, Ruth; John J., who lives with his father; Robert A., who is married and has two children: Nellie Jane, who died at the age of three years : Lulu B., who is the wife of Isaac Stanley and has a son, John R .; Jennie, who is the wife of Henry Scheafer of Bradford and has four children: Alice, wife of Arthur Toon, by whom she has two children, Helen and Ralph; and Martha E. Mrs. Graham was called to her final rest. April 4. 1887. Religiously, Mr. Graham is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Covington. He is a member of Alexander Mitchell Post. G. A. R.
I. A. CORWIN, one of Covington's well known citizens, who is agent for the Miami Valley Gas and Fuel Company, at this point, was born at Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio, February 29, 1836. and is a son of John R. and Sarah (Miller) Corwin.
In his infancy, the parents of Mr. Cor- win moved from Urbana to Addison, where he grew to manhood and learned the car- penter trade with his father. When nine- teen years old he accepted a position as clerk in a dry goods store at Urbana, where he worked for four years, and then came to Covington as manager of a branch store for the firm of Brown & Price, of Urbana. His management of the Covington branch was entirely satisfactory, but within a year the firm got into difficulties and made an assignment. The call for troops when the Rebellion broke ont found the young clerk one of the first patriots to respond, his enlistment taking place on April 19, 1861. as a member of Company K. Thir- teenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, four days after the call was made. He served a little over three months and then returned to Covington, but re-enlisted on March 1. 1862. entering Company I, Sixty- first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served a little less than two years when he was discharged for disability, and came home to recuperate. On May 10, 1864, Mr. Corwin again entered the Fed- eral service: becoming second lieutenant of Company I, 147th Regiment, Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, serving 100 days and receiv- ing his third honorable discharge. One of his most highly prized possessions is a ver- tificate of honorable military service which bears the signature of the revered Abra- ham Lincoln. Mr. Corwin has been active
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
in Grand Army circles and was a charter member of Langston Post, No. 299.
Mr. Corwin has been a continuous resi- dent of Covington since the close of his military life. He entered into partnership with E. D. Simes, in the carpenter business, and this association lasted for thirteen years, and after the firm was dissolved he continued individual work for another thirteen years. Mr. Corwin can point out many substantial specimens of his con- struction work during the twenty-six years that he labored as a carpenter at Coving- ton. his skill being very generally recog- mized by his fellow citizens.
Mr. Corwin was married to Miss Mar- garet E. Orr, a daughter of Josiah Orr and a sister of Col. Orr. of Piqua. Four chil- dren were born to this marriage, namely : John Sherman, who resides at Covington : Sybil, who died in 1874, was the wife of Walter Hill: Olive, who died in 1873; and William P., who is engaged in the gas busi- ness at South Charleston, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Corwin are members of the Christian Church. He has been identified with the Masonic fraternity for forty-four years and is a trustee of Covington Lodge, in which he has taken all the degrees. Being one of the older residents of Covington, he has been a witness of its remarkable de- velopment and, in as far as he has been able, he has furthered the good work. He is still actively engaged in business and has an unusually wide circle of personal friends.
MOSES B. WISE, a general farmer and representative citizen of Newberry Town- ship, residing on his well improved farm of fifty-five acres, which is, situated two miles southwest of Bloomer, was born on the old Moses Wise farm north of Brad-
ford, Ohio, September 24, 1858. His par- ents were Moses and Elizabeth (Burkett) Wise.
The elder Moses Wise was born near Lebanon, Ohio, and died on his old home farm near Bradford, in November, 1897. He was twice married, his first wife, Eliza- beth Burkett, being a native of Darke County, Ohio. She died April 8, 1860, when Moses B., the youngest of her thir- teen children, was a babe of eighteen months. Moses Wise was married subse- quently, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Sword) Ullery, and four children were born to that union.
Moses B. Wise was reared by his step- mother and remained on the home farm until his own marriage. This took place December 16, 1883, to Miss Anna Miller, who was born in Newberry Township, Miami County, on the farm lying south of the present Wise home. She is a daugh- ter of Joseph and Anna B. (Bashore) Miller and when she was six months old, her parents moved into Darke County, where she was reared. The late Joseph Miller, who died March 22, 1909, at the age of eighty-four years, was born on the same farm as his daughter, November 25, 1824, and at the time of his death, was the oldest native-born resident of the town- ship.
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