History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2, Part 3

Author: Byron Williams
Publication date: 1913
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 925

USA > Ohio > Brown County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Clermont County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 3

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).

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JOSEPH R. SMITH

MARY (GARLAND) SMITH

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public office. He and his wife were devout members of the Methodist church.

Mr. Smith attended the public schools and took up farming upon leaving school. After attaining his majority he began farming on his own account, and about four years later was united in marriage with Miss Mary Garland, who was born in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1849, daughter of Rev. B. F. and Maria (Rybolt) Garland. Four children have blessed this union : Torston G., Tauszky, Oscar J. and Otta. Tauszky received a good common school education and is a merchant at Madison- ville. He married Carrie Gatch, and they have two children, Florence E. and Mary Elizabeth. Oscar J. married Mrs. Flor- ence (Batten) Garland, and now owns and operates his father's farm. He has one son, Carl Garland. Otta married Dr. Frank Batten, of Clarksville, Ohio.

Mr. Smith is a Democrat in political affairs, and since the age of maturity has been active in public affairs. He has served several times as delegate to various conventions, has held township offices. In 1900 he was appointed land appraiser by Auditor John Davis, but refused to accept the office on account of poor health. He is now county commissioner, hav- ing been elected in 1909, and re-elected in 1911, and during the term of his incumbency of this office new pikes have been constructed, also a large bridge with concrete floor at Eden- ton, the first in the county. There is another concrete bridge at Loveland. He has progressive ideas and is broad-minded in his application of intelligence and foresight to the questions which come up in connection with his office. He realizes that it is the cheapest and best way for the county to construct its bridges in a manner that will last a long time, even though the first cost seems high, and that the safety and welfare of the citizens of the county are best served by a careful study of present and future conditions:

Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Pleasant hill, of which he is a trustee, and was one of the building committee when the new church edifice was erected. He enjoys to a large extent the confidence and esteem of his fellows and is recognized as a man of careful judgment and integrity. He is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias of Milford. Mrs. Smith died in January, 1908, at the age of fifty-seven years, sadly mourned by her family and many friends. She is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, at Mil- ford.

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FRANCIS E. BETTLE.

Francis E. Bettle, one of the most prosperous and enter- prising farmers and stock raisers of Clermont county, owns and operates the beautiful farm of one hundred acres located in Ohio township, formerly the home of Mrs. Bettle's father, Mr. John Shaw. Mr. Bettle is well known throughout the county, having been born in Monroe township, November I, 1836, a son of Samuel and Julia Ann (Simmons) Bettle, both of whom were of early Clermont county families.

Samuel Bettle, father of the subject of this review, was born September 1, 1800, in Philadelphia, Pa., whose parents were Everard and Mary (Trump) Bettle, also of Philadelphia. Mr. Everard Bettle, grandfather of Francis, came to New- town, near Cincinnati, about 1808 or 1809, and shortly after bought a large tract of land, extending from the Franklin neighborhood to the river, settling in Monroe township. In the McGraw Survey, Mr. Bettle secured seven or eight hun- dred acres of wild land not far from New Richmond, making of himself a large land owner. He was of Quaker stock, but later joined the Methodist Episcopal church, where he took great pleasure in active Christian work. It may be said of both Mr. and Mrs. Everard Bettle that they were living ex- amples of the faith which they possessed. Mr. Bettle passed from this life in 1835, and Mrs. Bettle's decease occurred in 1840. They were the parents of six children: Josiah, John, Evard, Jr., Elizabeth married Mr. Gleason, Mary married Mr. McDonald.

Samuel was reared from childhood in Monroe township. He was a successful farmer, possessing two hundred and fifty acres of fine land at the time of his death, July 21, 1865. He served well and faithfully in several township offices. Both Mr. Bettle and his good wife were members of the Methodist church and helped to build the Franklin church. Mr. Bettle was a Whig in the early days. Mrs. Bettle, whose birth occurred September 20, 1806, died October 25, 1870. She was a daughter of Leonard Simmons, of an early family of Clermont county. They had eleven children born to them, eight of whom grew to maturity :

Eliza, Nancy, and Elizabeth, all deceased.

Francis E., the subject of this sketch. De Witt, died at five years of age. Milton, deceased.

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John, died in the Civil war, in 1862, near Shiloh, being a member of a Kentucky regiment.

Julia, widow of Thomas Willis.

George, of Monroe township.

Francis E. Bettle received his education at a select school and at the Farmer's College, on College Hill, Cincinnati. After finishing the agricultural course, Mr. Bettle taught school for two years, then resumed farming for a time. Later, he studied surveying, which profession he has followed, successfully, for fifty years, doing a large amount of professional work for the county.

The marriage of Mr. Bettle to Miss Nancy Shaw was cele- brated May 29, 1861, in the present home, then the John Shaw homestead. The young couple resided in Monroe town- ship until 1882, when they removed to their comfortable home, where they have lived for thirty years. Mrs. Bettle, a daugh- ter of John Shaw, was born, February 7, 1839. To this union were born six children :

Jessie C., who married Elmer E. Hunt, of Olive Branch, this county. They have two children: Francis Wayland and Elizabeth.

John S., of Texas, is farming near Crystal City. He married Miss Etta McCoy and they have two sons: Everard and Ossie Allen.

Ida H., at home.

Julia Viola, is the wife of John Carnes, a farmer of Monroe township. They are the parents of three children: Mary M., John F., and Mildred B.

Francis W., of St. Louis, Mo., a civil engineer, married Miss Grace Seagrist, and to this union have been born three chil- dren : Albert F., Catherine, and Margaret.

Elizabeth, the wife of Harry Layfield, a steamboat engineer in the government service, now on the rivers. Two sons have blessed this couple: William D. and Milton B.

Mr. Bettle's political views are Democratic, and he has served in the various township offices, offering to those with whom he has been associated, an example of one not only hav- ing opinions, but also having the courage to express them. He is well and favorably known in the community where he has spent his entire life, and that many of his stanchest friends have known him from his boyhood days to the present is an indication that his life has ever been straightforward and honorable.

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WILLIAM M. FRIDMAN.

The career of the business man has few of those spectacular phases which make the life record of the military or political leader of wide-spread interest, yet thinkers throughout all the ages have regarded the profession of law as that which most greatly conserves public stability and progress. It is to the work of the courts that William M. Fridman has given his time and attention since 1887, coming to the bar with good equipment and since that time making the most of his opportunities for advancement in the difficult and arduous profession of the law. He has practiced in Cincinnati since April, 1891, and the court records show his connection with various cases of importance. He was born in Clermontville, Clermont county, Ohio, February 26, 1863, son of Franklin and Milly A. (Bushman) Fridman, the former a native of Stol- hoven, Baden, Germany, and came to America in 1830. Frank- lin Fridman was the pioneer merchant of Clermontville and more extended mention of his remarkable activities are to be found on other pages of this work.

William M. Fridman attended the public schools, continued his studies in the Clermont Academy, at Clermontville, Ohio, until his sixteenth year; next entered the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity, Delaware, Ohio, graduating in 1884 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. His literary knowledge served as an excellent basis upon which to build the superstructure of his professional knowledge. Mr. Fridman's law study began under the preceptorship of Frank Davis, the present judge of the common pleas court of Clermont and Brown counties, Ohio. He came to the Cincinnati Law School in 1886, and the following year won the degree of Bachelor of Laws upon his graduation in May, 1887. Mr. Fridman at once began prac- tice at New Richmond, Ohio, where he remained until April, 1891, and then came to Cincinnati and formed a partnership with Marshall Moreton ; one year later engaged in practice in association with George G. Bright, under the firm name of Bright & Fridman, which firm was dissolved January 1. 1894. He was then associated with Edward J. Dempsey, until May, 1898, at which time Mr. Dempsey was elected judge of the superior court. He was then associatel with Edward Barton until the latter became general attorney of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. In May. 1903. he formed a partner- ship with Judge Edward J. Dempsey, as Dempsey & Fridman,

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until January, 1906. Mr. Fridman has since followed his pro- fession independently, and with notable success. He has indi- cated his ability to cope successfully with intricate and in- volved legal problems and to present his cause in such clear and logical form that he never fails to hold attention of court or jurors and seldom fails to gain the desired verdict. Other business interests have to a limited extent claimed his atten- tion, for he has been a director of the First National Bank of New Richmond, Ohio, and is now a director of the Fridman Lumber Company, and of the Fridman Seating Company, both paying enterprises.

June 12, 1900, at Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Fridman was mar- ried to Miss Katherine Tombach, a daughter of August and Rose Tombach. Her father was superintendent of the Powell Brass Work Foundry, but passed away in 1878. The mother, however, still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Fridman reside at No. 2256 Jefferson Place, Norwood. Mr. Fridman was elected mayor of Norwood in November, 1911. In politics always a Democrat, since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and fraternally a Mason, widely known in the order. He is now past master of Vattier Lodge, No. 386, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and has also taken the degrees of the Scot- tish Rite and the Mystic Shrine. In sympathy with the benev- olent and beneficent purpose of the order, he also enjoys its social relations, for he is a man to whom friendship means much and to his friends he is ever loyal. The same loyal spirit is manifested in his professional work, and his capability as a practitioner of law has enabled him long since to leave the ranks of the many and to stand among the more successful few.

CLAYTON H. CORBIN.

There is perhaps no line of business that demands more close and unremitting effort than does farming, and yet there is none that yields more safe and sure returns than this same occupation if pursued along progressive lines, responding read- ily to the care and labor bestowed upon it. Mr. Corbin has verified this assertion in the control and improvement of his excellent farm in Monroe township, near Laurel, where he carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Corbin is a native of Clermont county, his birth having occurred here,

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July 17, 1871, he being a son of Nicholas Dow and Elizabeth (Stilman) Corbin.

Nicholas Corbin was born in Clermont county, April 24, 1824, and died October 16, 1897. Mr. Corbin was a farmer, whose efforts along agricultural lines were crowned with suc- cess. He was an uncle of the late Gen. H. C. Corbin. Eliza- beth (Stilman) Corbin was born in Cincinnati, in 1828, and passed away in 1902. Both Mr. and Mrs. Corbin were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. To this union were born six children, of whom but two are living:

Mrs. Alice Roudebush, is the wife of Mr. Lowell Roudebush. Mr. C. H. Corbin, the subject of this sketch.

Those who are deceased are: Hannah, Belle, Hosea, and George.

C. H. Corbin received his education in the schools here and at Lebanon, Ohio. His life work has been devoted to general farming, in which occupation he has been very successful. His marriage to Miss Jessie Sapp took place on January 30, 1895. They are the parents of two children :

Ward, who is fifteen years of age, lives at home.

Aldine, died in infancy, in 1907.

In political views, Mr. Corbin is Democratic, and he has served as township trustee at two different times. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and favors the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mrs. Corbin is a daughter of James H. Sapp, whose review follows.

JAMES H. SAPP.

Among the resident farmers of Clermont county, Ohio, who served their country in the Civil war, are numbered James H. Sapp, residing in Monroe township, not far from New Rich- mond. The farm which Mr. Sapp now owns and operates has been the property of some member of the Sapp family since it was obtained from the government. On September 27, 1843, James Sapp was born, he being a son of Abel and Sarah (Hodge) Sapp.

Abel Sapp, a native of Clermont county, was born about 1812, and lived to the good old age of seventy-two years. He was born on this same farm in Monroe township, and fol- lowed farming as his life work. Abel Sapp was a son of

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Edward and Elizabeth (Seaton) Sapp, the former of whom came to this county from Kentucky, when he was a young man. He passed away in 1843, of cholera.

Sarah (Hodge) Sapp was born in Clermont county, about 1819, and died in 1886, a daughter of James and (Treece) Hodge, the latter of an old family of Washington township. James Hodge was an old resident of Nicholsville.

James H. Sapp is one of five children, of which one sister died in infancy; the youngest is now living in Pasadena, Cal. He received his education in the schools of the county, and the Parker Academy. In 1863, Mr. Sapp enlisted in Company L, Ohio cavalry, under Captain Gatch. He served until the close of the war, nearly two years, being sergeant when he was discharged, never having been wounded.

After the close of the war, Mr. Sapp returned to his home and has followed general farming since. His marriage to Miss Jane Ann Porter took place in the winter of 1865. Jane Ann Porter is a daughter of William and Asenath (Lane) Porter. The Lanes were of a prominent family, one cousin, Henry Lane, was at one time Governor of Indiana. Wil- liam Porter, whose aprents were from Scotland, was born in Clermont county soon after the arrival of the family in the county.

Mrs. Sapp has two brothers and two sisters living: Charles, superintendent of the Tenth district schools of Cincinnati; John, a farmer living in Tennessee; Mrs. Henry Maltox, of Washington State; Mrs. H. L. Fridman, a widow living at Clermontville.

Mr. and Mrs. Sapp are the parents of five children :

Edward A., in the oil and gas business in Chautauqua coun- ty, Kansas. He is married and has three sons and one daughter.

Hattie, is the wife of Elmer Smith, of Pasadena, Cal.

Mary, a graduate nurse of Seaside Hospital, of Long Beach, Cal.

Jessie, is the wife of Clayton H. Corbin, a cousin of the late Gen. Henry Corbin.

Olive, was in business in Cincinnati, until her decease at twenty-three years of age.

Mr. Sapp is a member of the Frazier Post of Bethel Grand Army of the Republic, and in religious views favors the Meth- odist church. He is Republican and keeps well informed on all the political subjects of the day, although he has never

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accepted any office of the county, believing his family was his first consideration. He has given his business his entire at- tention with most excellent results. A man conscientious in all his dealings, he has the respect of all his neighbors and friends.

GEORGE HAND HILL.

Comparatively few men are spared, with unimpaired facul- ties, to the advanced age of four score and two years. George H. Hill was one of these and in reviewing his activities as an educator, civil engineer and inventor, considering also his es- timable Christian citzenship, it is more than evident that the community in which he lived is most fortunate. That his influ- ence was always for the best is testified to by scores now in middle life, and whom he taught in their younger days.

Mr. Hill was born in Stone Lick township, Clermont county, Ohio, March 5, 1830, and died at Milford, Ohio, May 8, 1912. He was the eldest of the twelve children of Charles and Re- becca (Hand) Hill, and was reared on his father's farm, at- tending school in the winter months. At the age of seventeen years he attended a private school in Milford, but owing to an outbreak of cholera, this and other schools were closed. Determined to secure an education, he taught for a few terms and ultimately purchased a scholarship in Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and after two years graduated in the scientific course. Mr. Hill then decided to make teaching his life work and very acceptably conducted various schools in the county.

In 1871 he became principal of Milford public school and satisfactorily held the position for six years consecutively. He was the first to prepare a grade for this school and this he did at the request of the board of education. After teaching for twenty-nine years, he was elected to the office of county sur- veyor. He made surveying and civil engineering his occu- pation until the time of his death. Mr. Hill was an active member of the Ohio society of civil engineers, and prepared several papers, which were published in full in the society's annual reports.

He was twice married, first on April 10, 1855, to Miss Sarah Thomas, of Radnor, Ohio. To this union were born three chil- dren, viz .:

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Emma Florence, formerly a teacher at Moore's Hill Col- lege, Indiana, and at Morristown Normal Academy, being an exceptionally fine pianist, and is the wife of Theodore F. Brown, who is with the Pere Marquette railroad, and resides at Detroit.

Miss Anna Gertrude, an artist, and the producer of several beautiful oil paintings, residing at home.

George Lewis, who died in infancy.

The mother was called to her heavenly home, March 7, 1873.

On Christmas Day, 1876, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Mrs. Sarah Eleanor Nichols, nee Applegate, born near Goshen, . Clermont county, Ohio, June 24, 1826, and who still resides at the Milford home.

Mrs. Hill is a daughter of Elijah and Nancy (Champion) Applegate, who settled in Goshen township when Cincinnati was but a village. Elijah was a farmer and millwright, own- ing and operating a mill for many years; also owned a finely improved farm. He died in 1840, aged forty-seven years, while his wife passed away in 1839. Both were born in the month of February, in 1793 and 1795, respectively. Their ten children are as follows: Perrine, Thomas Fletcher, John (the father of Mayor A. B. Applegate, of Milford, mentioned else- where in these volumes), Lydia Ann, married Rev. Mr. Barnes, and had two daughters who died in infancy, Eliza Jane, Sarah Eleanor (widow of our subject), Elijah, and Mrs. Nancy Eliza- beth Anshutz. Mrs. Hill, who is a remarkably well preserved lady, taught for some twenty-two years, in Goshen township, and at Knightstown, Ind., Seminary, and formerly was prin- cipal of a girls' school at Versailles, Ind. In the former insti- tution she taught the grammar department, being also first assistant, but her most pronounced success as an instructor was in the primary department.

Mrs. Hill's first husband was Robert H. Nichols, who died in 1872, he being an uncle of the later Judge Perry Nichols, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in these volumes. He was a prominent nurseryman, his home being in Laurel, in Monroe township, this county. He was born December 28, 1803, and his first wife, whom he married May 26, 1825, was Miss Mary Simmons, born December 22, 1802, and died March 16, 1863, daughter of James Simmons and an aunt of W. D. Simmons, now living retired at Laurel, and mentioned else- where in this work. Robert H. was a son of Nathan and Han- nah (Hodgson) Nichols, whose children were :

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42 Phillip, born in 1785.

William, born in 1787. .

John, born in 1789. Elijah, born in 1792.

Abner, born in 1795.

Esther, born in 1796.

David, born in 1799.

Nathan, born in 1802.

Robert Hodgson and Elizabeth, twins, born in 1803.

Thomas Jefferson, born in 1806.

Jonathan B., born in 1809.

The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Hill was pleasant and happy, and she and the daughter who reside at the beautiful home in East Milford look forward to a reunion in heaven. Mr. Hill was converted in his youth, and in 1847 united with the Methodist Episcopal church, Mount Zion charge, Milford circuit. He was a useful and faithful member to the day of his death, being at that time steward and trustee and having occupied the positions of chorister and recording steward. He was a most exemplary Christian and a lifelong abstainer from the use of tobacco and intoxicating liquors. During the last eight months of his life he was confined to the house, his suffering at all times being severe, but he was patient with all. After having exceeded by over ten years the psalmist's al- lotted time of life, his fertile brain had perfected an automobile having a dozen or more advantages presented in a model which he constructed and in working drawings which he forwarded to the United States Patent Office. Truly his beautiful, active and useful life is worthy of emulation by all youthful aspir- ants for success and his memory will ever be held dear by all whose pleasure it was to enjoy association with this noble character.

PRATHER FAMILY.

The Prathers came from Sheffield, England. Such is the family tradition. They were settled in Western Maryland, however, not long after 1700. The last sale of lands con- ducted by Lord Baltimore, Proprietor of Maryland, was made at the home of Col. Thomas Prather, in Frederick county, Maryland, November 9, 1767. In 1756 "Major Prather" com- manded one hundred and fifty men in the Indian wars in West-

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ern Maryland. In 1758, "Lieutenant Prather" and two pri- vates of the Maryland troops were killed by the Indians near Fort Duquesne.

James Prather was a lieutenant, and Thomas Prather a col- onel of Mary land troops in the Continental Army during the Revolution. They were both from Frederick county, and were active members of various Frederick county committees or- ganized to carry on the war. These and other annals of the family in Maryland are found in "Scharff's History of Mary- land," and "Scharff's History of Western Maryland." The Ohio Prathers removed from Frederick county, Maryland, to Fleming county, Kentucky, soon after the Revolution, but crossed to the north bank of the Ohio into Clermont county, about 1790, three brothers, Enos Prather, Erasmus Prather and John Garrett Prather, originally locating in Clermont county ; but Enos Prather removed to Piketon, in the Scioto Valley, not far from Chillicothe, about the year 1797, where some of his descendants still reside.

John Garrett Prather built what was afterwards known as the "Chilo House," on the banks of the river at the upper end of Chilo, about 1802, and also subdivided an addition to the village. His first wife was a Phillips, whom he married in Maryland, and who bore him two children, but died shortly after they settled in Ohio. He afterwards married Mary Ann Fee, a widow, whose maiden name was Sargent, and whose brother, James Sargent, was a member of the first Constitutional con- vention of Ohio. By his second wife, John Garrett Prather had eleven children. Through these he has a very numerous line of descendants. To this branch belonged James Prather, the captain of the "Magnolia," and who lost his life when that fine steamboat was destroyed by an explosion about 1870. John O. Prather, James Prather, Samuel Prather, Ignatius Prather, Silas Prather, Joshua Prather, Walter Prather, Wes- ley Prather, Nelly Ann Wall, Nancy Slye, Susannah Owens, Amelia Tucker, and Mary Ann Molen were the children of this original John Garrett Prather. Nelly Ann Wall was the grand- mother of James Wall, now of Batavia, and also of William Walker Smith, now in the diplomatic service and stationed at Constantinople. Griffith Prather, long a leading business man of St. Louis, Mo., and for eight years Democratic National committeeman for the State of Missouri, was a grandson of this original John Garrett Prather; his father being Wesley Prather, who was also the father of Edward G. Prather, late of

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History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2, Part 3

Author: Byron Williams Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Number of Pages: 925

Author: Byron Williams
Publication date: 1913
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 925