History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 151

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY,

Annie is a stenographer, employed in the auditor's office of the B. & O. S. W. R. R. Co. ; Stella is also a stenographer; Clara, Florence and James are at home. The family adhere to the Catholic Church. Mr. Julien was commissioned justice of the peace for Columbia township September 13, 1861, and served three terms. He was township treasurer eleven years, was member of the village council part of two terms, and was mayor of Madisonville, 1888-92. In 1888 he was nominated for county commissioner, but an adverse political majority prevented his election. In politics he is a Democrat, and at present is postmaster at Madisonville, Ohio.

WILLIAM H. SETTLE, dealer in coal and feed, and real-estate agent, Madisonville, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, January 21, 1859, son of William H. and Hes- ter M. (Kitchell) Settle, both of whom were natives of Ohio and of English descent. They were the parents of seven children: George I., of Columbus, Ohio; Charles M .; William H .; Carrie J. ; Anna; Florence, wife of Edward Gormen, and Leota.

William H. Settle received a public-school education, which was completed at Madisonville High School. His present business is that of dealing in coal and feed, and in the buying and selling of real estate. In politics he is a Democrat; in 1888 he was elected township trustee, to which office he was re-elected in 1892. He is also treasurer of the corporate village of Madisonville. On April 29, 1886, he married Mary B., daughter of William B. and Mary A. Clephane, and they are the parents of two children, Mable and Myrtle. Mr. and Mrs. Settle are members of the Regular Baptist Church; he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Masonic Lodge.

SAMUEL KYLE STEPHENS was born in Fayette county, Penn., December 31, 1835, the eighth in a family of twelve children-five sons and seven daughters: Clark, born in 1824; Benjamin F., born in 1830; Edward, born in 1833; S. Kyle (subject); Allen R. C., born in 1842; Elizabeth, born in 1822; Mary, born in 1825; Sarah, born in 1828; Susan, born in 1831; Nancy D., born in 1838; Frances P., born in 1840, and Amanda L., born in 1843, who is now Mrs. Amanda L. Murdock, who organized the Provisional Department of the Woman's Relief Corps of West Vir- ginia. She was its provisional president, and when the State of West Virginia was made a full department she was unanimously chosen its department president, which office she now holds. The sons all lived to manhood except Edward, who died at the age of two years. The daughters all lived to be the heads of households, and mothers. Edward Thomas Stephens, grandfather of our subject, was born of Irish parents in the State of Pennsylvania, June 1, 1769. The father, Thomas Clark Stephens, was born in Pennsylvania November 27, 1794; the mother, Hester (Orbin), was born of German parents August 22. 1800, in Pennsylvania-so the subject of this sketch, with his large family of sisters and brothers, is of Irish and German extraction. Thomas C. Stephens and his brother Edward W., father and uncle, respectively, of S. Kyle Stephens, became identified with the early development of iron and coal interests of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and early in the "forties" both located at Wheeling, Va. (now W. Va.), where Thomas C. Stephens became a leading coal merchant, and Edward W. a pioneer in the establishment of rolling mills.

It was at Wheeling, Va. (now W. Va.), that S. Kyle Stephens was reared. Before reaching that town, however, he had made some advancement in the rudiments of learn- ing, but in Wheeling, at the Fifth Ward School and at Duff's Commercial College, was laid the foundation for a life largely devoted to the educational interests of Hamilton county, Ohio. After leaving school, young Stephens took employment at the Crescent Rolling Mills, of which his uncle, E. W. Stephens, was one-third owner and manager, and under the able direction of Lot Joy, one of the most accomplished machinists of his day, learned the trade of rail rolling, roll turning and mechanical drawing. Equipped in this manner for what he thought to be his life work, the young mechanic followed the fortunes of his uncle Edward to Covington, Ky., until

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in the summer of 1856, when failing health admonished him to take a much-needed rest. Accordingly he sought the bracing effects of country air, and the seductive influence of piscatorial sport on the banks of the murmuring Miami, in the vicinity of classic Miamitown, Hamilton Co., Ohio. During his stay in the country he accepted an offer to teach a country school. This employment proved so congenial that he forever forsook the more lucrative as well as the more laborious trade he had just mastered, and devoted himself to the cause of education, chiefly in Hamilton county, Ohio, for the next thirty-four years, except an interval of ten years during which time he was in business in Cincinnati, Ohio. The ever memorable spring of 1861 found Prof. Stephens holding the position of principal of the high school at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he had located with his wife (he had married a Miss Minerva Smith, of Crosby township, Hamilton Co., Ohio, in December, 1858). In 1861, at the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men to maintain the honor of our flag, and the integrity of the Union, Prof. Stephens was one of the first to place his name on the roll of volunteers, and sending his wife and little baby home to her father, he started for "Camp Morton," at Indianapolis, with the patriotic boys from Lawrenceburg. He was commissioned first lieutenant of Company G, Seventh Indiana Volunteers, commanded by Col. E. Dumont, and served with distinction in McClellan's campaign in West Virginia. His two brothers, Benjamin and Allen (the only brothers then living), volunteered at the same time, Benjamin F. in a Pennsylvania regiment, and Allen R. C. in the First Virginia Regiment, both serving during the war. (Allen R. C. Stephens re-enlisted in Battery D, West Virginia Artil- lery, was taken prisoner in 1864, laid in Andersonville prison thirteen months, was released by Sherman's march to the sea, boarded the ill-fated steamer "Sultana " at Vicksburg, Miss., and was lost with some eighteen hundred brave boys in the terrible disaster, just above Memphis, April 27, 1865). The war record of the three brothers is a source of just pride to their family and friends.

S. Kyle Stephens and his wife, Minerva Stephens, have three children: Hallie Erminie Stephens, born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 13, 1860, now superintendent of the North Bend schools, and an accomplished musician; A. E. B. Stephens (the only son), born June 3, 1862, in Crosby township, Hamilton county (he has been a successful teacher in Hamilton and Butler counties. In 1891 he was elected mayor of Cleves, Ohio, and left the school room to accept the position of deputy treasurer of Hamilton county. He is president of the Miami Township B. and L. Company, a prominent member of the Sons of Veterans, a Mason and a K. of P.); and Maud Kyle, born in Cincinnati, May 27, 1864. These children were educated at the Cin- cinnati schools, A. E. B. finishing at the Chickering Academy. A. E. B. Stephens and his sister, Maud Kyle, only son and youngest daughter of S. Kyle and Minerva Stephens, married, respectively, Mary Carlin and James B. Carlin, eldest daughter and second son of Capt. James Carlin, of Cleves, Hamilton Co., Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. A. E. B. Stephens were born four children: James Kyle, Maude, Leslie M. (who died at the age of fourteen months), and Corinne. To Mr. and Mrs. James B. Carlin have been born three children: Hallie Estella; James B., Jr., and S. Kyle Stephens. James B. Carlin is one of the most popular conductors on the M. & L. S. R. R., on which road he has held service for eight years with his home at Ash- land, Wis. Minerva (Smith) Stephens, wife of S. Kyle Stephens, was born and raised in Crosby township, Hamilton Co., Ohio. Her father, David Smith, was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Hamilton county when a boy, and was one of the sturdy pioneers of the Miami Valley. He married Susanah Wilkins, only daughter of Daniel Wilkins, a wealthy pioneer. David Smith and his wife reared a family of eight children-four sons and four daughters-seven of whom are living.

Prof. S. Kyle Stephens is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Scottish Rite and York Rite Masons, I. O. O. F. and Encampment, Sons of Temperance,. Keeley League, and Grand Army of the Republic. His wife is a devout member of

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

the Richmond Street Christian Church, Cincinnati. £ It may be truthfully said that " S. Kyle Stephens and his wife have thus far lived busy, useful lives, meeting its duties fearlessly, and discharging them with more than ordinary ability. Both still give promise of many years in which to indulge an excusable pride in the success of their talented and prosperous children-to watch with anxious tender concern the growth and development of their promising grandchildren, and to enjoy the society and fellowship of their numerous relatives and friends."

REV. JAMES T. POLLOCK, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Madisonville, was born August 31, 1835, son of William and Fannie (Thompson) Pollock. The father, who was a cousin of Governor Pollock of Pennsylvania, died in 1880; the mother died in 1865. They were the parents of children, as follows: Eliza Mc., wife of L. M. Anderson, of Logan county, Ohio; J. B., of Van Wert, Ohio; Mary H., wife of R. F. Howard, of Xenia, Ohio; Jennie, who married T. B. Core, of Long Branch, N. J. ; Sarah H., wife of I. N. Glasgow; Calvin, a physician, of Detroit, Mich .; S. J., a physician, of Bellecenter, Ohio; and Ellen, Robert H., William W. and Fanny, all deceased.

James T. Pollock was educated at Geneva Hall, Logan Co., Ohio, and took a course in theology at Allegheny City, Penn. In 1860, he began preaching at Bovina, N. Y. During the war of the Rebellion, he served one year as chaplain of the Ninety-first Indiana Regiment. He has been pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Madisonville for the past five years, and enjoys the love and confidence of the com- munity in general, as well as of his own people. On June 12, 1867, he married Elizabeth A., daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Ramsey) Andrews, both natives of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Four children have been born to this union: Fanny, wife of Walter Alsdorf ; Margaret R .; Charles F. (deceased), and Melville A. In politics Mr. Pollock is a Republican.

FRANK LOBNITZ, president of the Madison Planing Mill Company, is a native of Germany, where he was born November 24, 1829, one of six children born to Fred- erick and Martha Lobnitz. He came to America in 1868, and located at Madison- ville, where he has since had a controlling interest in the planing mill. In 1858 he was married, in Denmark, to Maria Cristiansen, and to this union six children were born: William, Julius, Ennis, Emma, Ennis, and Matilda, the two last named being now deceased. The family is connected with the Lutheran Church; in politics Mr. Lobnitz is a Democrat.

W. J. BEHYMER, undertaker and proprietor of livery stables at Madisonville and 、 Norwood, was born at Locust Corner, Clermont Co., Ohio, January 13, 1842, son of Benjamin and Fannie (Nash) Behymer. His father was born March 28, 1821, his mother on March 29, 1823, both in Clermont county. Benjamin Behymer's par- ents were Joel and Eve Behymer, who came from Pennsylvania while the Indians were still here, and died in Clermont county. Benjamin followed farming in his native county until about 1877, when failing health compelled him to relinquish rural pursuits and seek retirement, since which time he and his wife have resided with their son W. J. Their union was blessed with two children: W. J. and E. B., who was foreman in the Madisonville livery stables at the time of his death, July 11, 1893. Mr. Behymer served as a justice of the peace in Clermont county several years; held the office of director of the County Infirmary, and was a member of the Clermont County Agricultural Society many years. He and his wife are consistent members of the Baptist Church, in which he has been for many years, and is now, a deacon.

W. J. Behymer was educated in the common schools of his native county, and has been successively employed in tobacco manufacture, as merchant and as under- taker. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth O. V. I. as corporal of Company B, and was subsequently promoted to orderly sergeant. His first service was with the troops thrown across the Ohio to meet Gen. Kirby Smith. In 1862

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

he was in active service in the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, and in the battles of the Army of the Cumberland at Fort Donelson, Nashville, Carthage, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga and Chickamauga. At the last named place he was taken prisoner September 20, 1863, and during the next fifteen months was successively confined at Ringgold, Ga .; Belle Isle, Va .; Libby Prison, Danville, Va .; Andersonville, Ga. ; Charleston, S. C., and then again at Florence and Charleston, where he was paroled and sent to Annapolis. He was then furloughed, and finally discharged at Columbus, Ohio, about the time of Lee's surrender in 1865.

On October 5, 1865, Mr. Behymer married Anna L. Hatfield, who was born March 15, 1844. daughter of Col. J. D. and Elizabeth (Crossley) Hatfield. By this marriage there is one child, Frank A., in partnership with his father and having charge of the Norwood stables. Mr. Behymer is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Blue Lodge, F. & A. M., Madisonville, No. 419, Kil- winning Chapter, No. 97, and Hanselman Commandery, No. 16, also of the Mystic Shrine, Syrian Temple; he is a member and has been commander of H. B. Banning Post G. A. R., Madisonville. He has served as president of the State Association of Ex-Prisoners of War for two years, and was president of the Regimental Associa- tion of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Behymer rendered valuable services to the Hamilton County Agricultural Board for eight years, and is now a worthy member of Madisonville council. He became connected with the Madison- ville Building and Loan Association No. 2, in 1877, becoming an officer at the time, and has served ever since. He and his wife belong to the Baptist Church.

J. ANDERSON WARD, farmer, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, October 5, 1840, son of John C. and Betsey N. (Schofield) Ward, both of whom were of English par- entage, the former born in New Jersey, the latter in New York. The father, who was a blacksmith by trade, came to Hamilton county in 1815, and followed black- smithing for some years, but spent the latter days of his life on a farm. His family numbered seven children: Sarah M., Sylvester, Sanford, Josephine, Lillie C., J. Anderson, and one that died in infancy, of whom, Lillie C. and J. Anderson are still living.

J. Anderson Ward, the only surviving son, received his education at the Madi- sonville public schools, and at Bartlett's Commercial College, Cincinnati. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and since his father's death has taken his place on the farm. On May 9, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty- eighth O. V. I., which was mustered in at Camp Dennison and proceeded thence to Arlington Heights, Washington. He was mustered out September 1, 1864, and returned to his old home at Madisonville, where he has since resided. In 1880 he married Carrie, daughter of Thomas and Augusta (Wadleigh) Richards, and one child has been born to this union, John Raymond. Mr. Ward is independent in politics. He served as a member of the first council after Madisonville was incorporated, and has been a director of Madisonville Building and Loan Association No. 2. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, and the National Union at Madisonville.

ROBERT Scorr was born May 7, 1822, near Belfast, Ireland, a son of Hugh and Mary (Fleming) Scott. He emigrated to America in his youth, locating in Philadel- phia, whence in 1857 he removed to Cincinnati, where he first obtained employment with the dry-goods firm of Day & Matlack, on Pearl street. Two years later he entered the employ of Julius J. Bautlin, the well-known hardware merchant, who was then doing business in the old courthouse under the firm name of Bautlin & Conlin. Business changes followed, but Mr. Scott retained the position of book- keeper, salesman, and confidential clerk for thirty-three years. He was secretary of the Madison Building Association No. 1, for a few years prior to the close of its business, and occupied the same position with No. 2, from its organization until the successful termination of its business. When No. 3 came into existence, he was tendered the secretaryship, but advancing years, and removal from the city, com-

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

pelled him to decline. Mr. Scott never lost an opportunity to vote, and never failed to be a true Republican. He was well and favorably known in the circle of Odd Fellowship, having been connected with Magnolia Lodge of Cincinnati, and with Laurel Lodge, and Madison Encampment, of Madisonville. He was reared a Pres- byterian, and had the satisfaction of seeing his entire household connected with that Church. Throughout his long life he enjoyed uniform good health, but began to fail in the spring of 1892, death ensuing August 24, of the same year. He lived a noble, upright life, and was never known to stoop to a dishonest or dishonorable action. His death was mourned as a village calamity. His widow and four daugh- ters-two married, and two single-survive him. Mrs. Scott's maiden name was Mary Thompson, and she and Mr. Scott were married October 30, 1849, by Dr. Dall, of Philadelphia. Her parents were Robert and Catherine (Stewart) Thomp- son, of Rawelton, Ireland.

HON. SAMUEL FULTON COVINGTON (deceased) was born at Rising Sun, Indiana, November 12, 1819, son of Robert E. and Mary (Fulton) Covington. He began his business career as clerk in a store, but early entered the river transportation service, as clerk on the steamboat "Renown," owned by William Glenn, of Cincinnati, and also engaged in shipping produce to southern markets by flatboats. This was fol- lowed by a brief experience in general. In March, 1843, he established the Indi- ana Blade at Rising Sun; two years later he transferred this paper to his brother, John B., and established the Daily Courier at Madison, Indiana. In 1845 he was admitted to the Bar at Rising Sun, and, though he never practiced, he was a recog- nized authority on insurance law, having been connected for some years with the Rising Sun and Indianapolis Insurance Companies. He was elected the first audi- tor of Ohio county, Indiana, in which he was subsequently deputy clerk of the circuit court; deputy county recorder, deputy county treasurer, and deputy school commis- sioner, eventually filling every county office except those of sheriff and coroner. He was elected justice of the peace in 1846, served as postmaster in 1846-47, and in 1847 was elected to the Indiana Legislature from the counties of Ohio and Switzer- land. In 1851 he located at Cincinnati, and resumed his connection with the insur- ance business. Here he was considered an authority by his business associates, who elected him president of the board of underwriters. He was also secretary of the Western Insurance Company, and in March, 1865, was one of the Globe Insurance Company, of which he was elected secretary at its organization, and president from 1865 to 1888. Owing to poor health, he resigned the presidency May 15, 1888; he was not permitted to retire from official connection with the company, however, but was at once re-elected honorary vice-president, continuing until his death. Mr. Covington was also connected with the municipal government in various official capacities. In 1870 he was elected alderman, and in the following year he became president of the board. In 1875 he was elected president of the board of police com- missioners. As a delegate from the Chamber of Commerce, he attended the con- vention, in 1868, that organized the National Board of Trade. In the same year the Chamber of Commerce elected him vice-president, an honor with which he was twice again complimented. He became president in 1872, serving two terms. In 1873 he was elected a delegate to the National Board of Trade, of which he was vice-president from that date until 1880. In 1878 he was elected president of the Cincinnati Board of Trade, which consolidated with the Board of Transportation in the following year, and he was the first executive officer of the resulting organiza- tion. For a long time he was chairman of the committee of the Chamber of Com- merce on the building of the Louisville and Portland canal, and his correct addresses before the 'congressional committee on commerce contributed largely to the early and successful completion of that important work. He was the first to suggest traveling post masters, and the weather bureau reports. He was a constant writer for news- papers on political and economic subjects. He was especially interested in the

Charles TRICKSM

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

improvements and protection of inland navigation. At the time of his death he had in course of preparation a history of Cincinnati. Mr. Covington was married April 2, 1843, to Mary, daughter of Jonathan and Eleanor (Davis) Hamilton, natives of Pennsylvania and of Maryland, respectively. To this union five children were born: Lieut. George B., who fell in the service of his country; John I., insurance manager, New York City, and a member of national prominence in the Beta Theta Pi Frater- nity; Harriet, wife of Rev. J. H. Shields, D. D., of Omaha, Neb .; Mary, deceased wife of Joseph Cox, Jr., of Cincinnati, and Florence, wife of Harry M. Hidden, a wholesale grocer of Kansas City, Mo. Mr. Covington was a member of the Presby- terian Church; of the Masonic fraternity, and of the I. O. O. F. Politically, he was a stanch Republican. He died December 26, 1889, and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, where a fine monument marks his last resting place.

DAVID KLEIN, druggist, Madisonville, was born in Spencer county, Indiana, a son of Conrad and Charlotte Klein. His father is now a druggist at Madisonville, and here our subject has also been engaged in the same business since 1878, when he completed his education at the Cincinnati public schools. He was postmaster from 1882 to 1886, and from 1889 to the present time. In 1892 he was elected a member of the board of education, with which he is also connected as clerk. In 1880 he married Rosa Brooks, and they are the parents of two children: Edith and Ralph. Mr. and Mrs. Klein are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; he is also con- nected with the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias, Royal American Na- tional Union, and the Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association; in politics he is a Republican.

WILLIAM W. HUNT was born in Clermont county, Ohio, a son of John M. and Elizabeth (Conklin). Hunt, natives of New Jersey, and of English descent. The mother died in Clermont county, in 1891; the father, who was a builder and con- tractor throughout his active business life, spent his last years upon a farm. Their family numbered ten children, eight of whom are living.

William W. Hunt was reared on his father's farm, receiving a public-school education, which was supplemented by a course of study at Clermontville Academy. He began to learn the carpenter trade in 1880, under Henry Fisher, and with him worked one year. During the next year he was employed in Cincinnati, and then after spending a year on his father's farm began building and contracting at Madi -- sonville. In connection with this business, he has also conducted a lumber yard' since 1892. On December 28, 1882, he married Addie C., daughter of Hubbard andi Martha (Wood) Baker, to which union five children have been born, viz .: Howard;, Roland, Wilber, Helen and Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are members of the Bap -. tist Church, and in politics he is a Prohibitionist.

CHARLES S. MUCHMORE was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, July 31, 1831, a son' of David and Sarah (Stites) Muchmore. His father, a native of New Jersey, born of English descent, came to Hamilton county and located near Madisonville, where at one time he owned about five hundred and forty acres of land, part of which is now in the possession of the subject of this sketch. He was a farmer throughout his active business life, and died in 1864; his wife, who was also a native of New Jersey, died in 1856. They were the parents of three children: Sarah A., who married Alonzo DeForest; Deborah, and Charles S.

The subject of this sketch was reared on his father's farm, and received a public- school education. He has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and is one of the representative farmers of the county. On January 4, 1855, he married Alvi- na Leonard, daughter of Mahlon P. (a wagon maker by occupation) and Anna M. Leonard, natives of Hamilton county. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Muchmore, two of whom are now living: Anna, wife of James F. Bramble, of Madisonville, and Eugena, wife of Grant Blaney, also of that village; Charles W., William H. and Luella are deceased. In politics, Mr. Muchmore is an Independent.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 151

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592