History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, Part 59

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108

USA > Ohio > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families > Part 59

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FRANK L GALLUP.

Adapting a sentiment once expressed concerning the writing of history. It is appro- printe to quote : "Writing history is like making a bouquet in a garden of rare and beauti- ful flowers-there is such an array of material. so much to choose from. so little that can be chosen, and so much to be left untouched." The same might be said of the biography of a self-made man, such as the subject of this sketch, for in such a life, it is possible only to portray the external events and final results, though their influence may go down to posterity. There is something in the American heart which makes it respond to the word "self-made." as a soldier responds to a drumbeat. When that term is applied to one of our acquaintance. our respect immediately mounts higher, but the hardships encountered on the journey to success fortunately remain in the memory only of the man himself. One of the best-known and most Influential merchants is Frank L. Gallup, dealer in carpets and wall paper, who was born in Wilmington on January 27. 1872. the son of Horace and Frances (Crary) Gallup, both natives of Connecticut.

Whatever of success Frank T. Gallup has attained, has been largely through his own efforts, for the father was a man of moderate menns, and in those days a college ednen- tion was indeed a luxury. But the father left his son something far more priceless than means, and that was an honest name.

Horace Gallup came to Wilmington in the pioneer days of 1848, his journey from the East apparently being made in the desire to find full scope for his adventurous unture. Together with his parents and their family. he started a sash and blind factory with his brothers, Alpha and Henry, which they operated successfully, for many years. He was a man of high standing in the community, and was a Mason, His widow, who still survives him, is living in Wilmington. Mr. Gallup was twice married, his first wife being Emily Clevenger by whom he had two daughters, Nettle, the wife of A. E. Caudel, deceased, and whose home was in Westerville, Ohio, and Emma, now Mrs. Charles Had- ley of Wilmington.

The children of the second marriage were three in number, of which the subject of this sketeb is the eldest. Anna, the eldest daughter, is the wife of H. T. Cartwright, a prominent attorney of Wilmington: Mary, the youngest. is Mrs. P. F. Dixon of Chili- cothe. Ohio, her husband being a dentist in that city.

As before stated, the boyhood home of Frank Gallup was nt Wilmington, in its schools of which he was eduented, this including a course in the Wilmington college. As it was necessary for him early to assume the responsibilities of life, he first sought and obtained

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employment from H. G. Cartwright, taking charge of the carpet department of his carpet and dry-goods establishment. Some time after this, Mr. Gallup was employed by Cook & Linton until the death of the former, at which time, Mr. Gallup, who had now become a valuable salesman, took over the carpet department of this business. He first started in business on May 14, 1808, and has grown from a modest beginning to be the largest merchant in his line in the county.

That Mr. Gallup is a good business man by nature as well as by training may be perceived by the fact that starting with a small stock and store, be now has a stock four times as large as that of any other town of the size of Wilmington in the state. The store has a floor space of ten thousand five hundred square feet, and the stock and fix- tures occupy two floors and the basement. Mr. Gallup carries a large line of carpets, draperies, wall paper, china, vacuum cleaners, and gives especial attention to the work of home decorating.

On January 21, 1900, Mr. Gallup and Maude Anderson of Leesburg, Oblo, were mar- ried, the bride being a daughter of Thomas J. and Jennie (Chew) Anderson. The chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Gallup are Helen, Mildred and Chester.

Mr. and Mrs. Gallup's church affiliation has been with the Presbyterians of which denomination, the former is now a trustee. Both he and his wife have been valuable members of the church, active and zealous in all of its work, and sincere in their desire to make their lives count for good.

Mr. Gallup is a loyal and energetic member of various organizations. Besides taking his place among the merchants of the city. Mr. Gallup is a prominent Mason, being up to the commandery ; is a member of the Elks lodge; the Knights of Pythias, and is a Republican.

One of the honors which has come to Mr. Gallup recently is an office connected with the Commercial Club. Since he has become its treasurer, the financial affairs of this important business organization have been well looked after. In "boosting" its Inter- ests, he has also "boosted" the business conditions in Wilmington. He is a "live wire," and is popular both as a business man and in the social and religious circles In which he and Mrs. Gallup move.

In closing this sketch, it is fitting to note that high moral standards have always actuated Frank L. Gallup, both in his publle, business and private life. With honesty and integrity as the key-note to his career, it is not surprising that he has built up a large business, his geniality and kindliness being no small factor in his success.

OTTO GRADY BROWN.

Dating from the very beginning of the social order hereabout, the Brown family has been prominently and influentially identified with the best Interests of Clinton county. particularly in the Washington township neighborhood. James Brown was one of the very earliest settlers of that section, baving come bere from Kentucky upon the opening of the Carrington survey and establishing himself as one of the most forceful and energetic pioneers of this region. Ils son, David Brown, Inherited many of the same forceful characteristics and in his generation was regarded as one of the most influential factors in the community life of that part of the county in which his life was spent. he having remained on the paternal acres which were wrested from the forest wilderness by his pioneer father. David Brown's son, William Riley Brown, in his generation, brought to his labors a similar degree of energy and was accounted a man of substance and quality. He was publie spirited and enterprising and for eighteen years served his township as trustee. being the Incumbent of that office at the time of his death.

William Riley Brown's son. Otto Grady Brown, In the fourth generation of this (27)

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forceful family in this county, is carrying on, in his own life, the work bequeathed to him by three generations of energetic forbears and has done equally well, bringing to bear the same talents and energy which placed his father, his grandfather and bis great-grandfather in the forefront of the earnest citizenship of their respective fields. and is now serving the township as trustee, following his father's faithful example of devotion to the common welfare of the people of his home township.

Otto Grady Brown has the first tax receipts issued to his grandfather. David Brown. for the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents, this being the taxes on fifty acres of land and his personal property. Mr. Brown also has the first tax receipts of his father on his land.

Otto Grady Brown was born on a farm near Farmers Station, in Clark township, Clinton county, Ohio, on July 22, 1872. son of William Riley and Martha Ann (McKib- ben) Brown, the latter of whom was a sister of W. J. Mckibben, to the biographical sketch of whom, presented elsewhere in this volume, the render is respectfully referred for details regarding this interesting family in Clinton county. William Riley Brown was the son of David and Rebecca ( Lieurance) Brown, the former of whom was born in Washington township. this county, and the latter of whom was born in Ash county. North Carolina, a daughter of George and Mary ( Baker) Lieurance, she baving come to this county on horseback, with her uncle, at the age of twelve years, locating in the neighborhood of Brown's school in Washington township. Rebecca Lieurance was one of the nineteen children born to her parents, none of whom she ever saw again after coming to this county.

David Brown was a son of James and Mary Elizabeth ( Baker) Brown, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and the latter of whom was one of the very earliest settlers in what is now Clinton county. having come here with her parents shortly after the opening of this settlement and locating in the vicinity of Morrisville. When James Brown came to this section from Kentucky, be crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati (then called Ft. Washington), where he was offered the pirk of land at the rate of one dollar the acre. He passed this flattering offer by, however, and came on north. buying six hundred acres of timber land in the Carrington survey. much of which still is in the possession of the Brown family. Otto G. Brown's farm being a part of this original tract. James Brown erected a log cabin, of the most primitive type, on this purchase and proceeded to clear his land of the dense forest which covered it. He married Mary Elizabeth Baker, daughter of one of the hardy pioneer couples who had settled near by, and presently supplanted his cabin by a residence of more pretentious appearance. this Inter to give way to the fine brick house in which his last days were spent. this old brick mansion still standing and in use, being now occupied by the family of William Baker. At the time of James Brown's settlement in this county the wolves still were plentiful hereabout and at times he found difficulty in guarding his homely cabin from the nocturnal incursions of these voracious maurading "varmints" He had to go to Miami mills to have his grain ground, a tiresome trip requiring three days, during which time his wife and little children were compelled to remain alone.

It was amid these conditions of pioneer life that David Brown was reared. A log school house was early erected on the Brown pince, near the spot where Otto G. Brown now Hives, and there David Brown received his education under the primitive system that then prevalled. Upon reaching his majority he received from his father fifty acres of timber land, which he cleared and brought to a state of cultivation. Upon his marriage to Rebecca Lionrance he erected a humble home in the forest and there he reared his family. By energy and Industry he prospered and presently became known as one of the solid and substantial men of the county, his land holdings increasing until he owned three hundred acres of choice land. He and the members of his family were adherents of the Baptist faith and earnest workers in the church of that denomination.

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During the Civil War David Brown served as a member of the home guards, or "squirrel hunters," as they locally were known throughout this part of the state. For some time be served as township assessor and took an active part in all public affairs.

William Riley Brown, son of David and Rebecca ( Lieurance) Brown received his education in the Brown district school and upon reaching manhood's estate entered upon the life of a farmer, buying one hundred and sixty acres of the old home farm, and there he spent the remainder of his life. At the age of sixteen William R. Brown began to engage in the business of shipping stock, and followed this business with much success all his life, being one of the best-known stock dealers in that part of the county. He married Martha Ann Mckibben, member of one of the old families in this county, and later erected the fine home in which his son, Otto, now lives. He and his wife were members of Bethel Christian church, of which he was one of the "main stays," and their children were reared in that faith. William R. Brown was a Democrat and ever took a prominent part in the political affairs of the county, his sound judgment and thorough acquaintance with local conditions giving much weight to his counsels in the deliberations of the party managers, For eighteen years be served his township faltb- fully in the important office of township trustee and was the incumbent of that office at the time of his death. William R. Brown and wife were the parents of four children, Otto, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch, Oceus, Ohm and Mande.

Otto G. Brown was reared on the paternal farm, receiving his education In the Brown school, and, with the exception of nine years, has spent his whole life on this place, having been located on the old home farm ever since he started farming for himself. He operates one hundred and twenty acres of the original tract purchased by his great-grandfather. James Brown, and has prospered. being accounted quite well circumstanced in world's goods. Mr. Brown has given close attention to political affairs and is prominently identified with the civic life of the county. Six years ago he was elected township trustee, on the Democratic ticket, and is still serving the people of his township in that important capacity. his efforts in behalf of the public welfare having been indorsed by successive re-elections.

On October 11. 1891. Otto G. Brown was united in marriage to Mary Pond. of Washington township, this county. a daughter of Riley and Jemimah ( Leurance) Pond. to which union two children were born. Reba and Riley. Mr. Brown married, secondly, on March 5. 1913. Vesta Bond, of Greene township. this county. a daughter of Thomas and Katie ( Smingley) Bond, descendants of early settlers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Brown take an active part in the social affairs of their neighborhood and are held in the highest regard throughout that part of the county. Mr. Brown is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge and of the Order of Eagles and is very popular with the members of both of these orders.

C. M. NOFTSGER.

One of the most highly-treasured relies of a day long gone that is possessed in Clinton county is a Bible four hundred and sixty years old. This truly venerable volume of Holy Writ was brought to Amerien by John Noftager, grandfather of the gentleman whose unme the reader notes above. when he came to this country from Germany back In the early days of the last century. John Noftsger for some time after his arrival in this country was located in Maryland, where he married. He then emigrated to Ohio. leating in Hamilton county, and Inter moved to Clinton county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Grandfather Noftiger was a great Bible student. being widely noted for the careful manner in which be searched the scriptures and the old Bible which he brought with him from Germany. and which, even then, was a prized heirloom In the Noftsger family, is now owned by his grandson. C. M. Noftsger, the fmmedlate subject of this sketch. As noted above, this venerable volume is four hundred

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and sixty years old and has been examined by many persons in the neighborhood of the Noftager home.

Namond Noftager, sou of John and Mary Jane Noftsger, was born in Hamilton county, neur the town of Madisonville, and was reared as a farmer. Upon reaching man- hood's estate he moved to Butler county, this state, where he married Mary Jane Gerard, daughter of John and Martha Gerard, members of old families in that part of the state, and later came to Clinton county, where, in 1855, he bought the farm in Washington township, where his son, the subject of this sketch, now lives. This farm of eighty acres was brought to an excellent state of cultivation and Namond Noftager made on it a good living, rearing his family of ten children in comfort. During the Civil War Namond Noftager enlisted in the Union army in response to the call for ninety-day men and performed good service. He and his wife were devoted members of the Seventh Day Adventists church and their children were reared in that faith,

C. M. Noftsger, one of the ten children of Namond and Mary Jane (Gerard) Noftager, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on December 24, 1853, and consequently was but two years of age when his parents moved to this county, practically all of his life, therefore, having been spent on the farm on which he is now living. With the exception of two years he spent in the medicine business at Lancaster, Ohio, C. M. Noftager has been a farmer all his life. In his early manhood he spent three years engaged in farming in Illinois. He owns thirty-one acres of the old home place, the buildings of which be has remodeled. and is living there very comfortably.

Ou February 28, 1878, C. M. Noftsger was united in marriage to Mary Eliza Bloom, who was born in this county on August 10. 1558, daughter of William and Miranda (Roberts) Bloom. To this union four children have been born, namely: Maude married William Chambers, living in Washington township; Garri is a painter at Burton- ville, Oblo; Harley and Marion. Harley is in Orofino, Idaho, in business with his father-in-law in a department store. Marion is in Moscow. Idabo, manager second floor of the largest department store in the state of Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Noftager are members of the Seventh Day Adventists church and are warmly concerned in the affairs of that church, being among the leaders in the local congregation, in which both are held in the very highest esteen.

SIMEON G. SMITH.

For one hundred years the family of Ephraim Smith, an English sailor who settled on American shores and became the founder of an extensive family, has been represented in Clinton county, the first of that line of Smiths to come here having been another Ephraim, who came from New Jersey in the year 1816 and located on a farm in Vernon township, on which be conducted a roadside tavern which was famed far and wide in that day for the hospitable character of the entertainment it afforded for the weary traveler. This pioneer tavern was situated on the main east and west highway through this section at that time, over which there was a constant stream of travel, and Ephraim Smith's reputation as a boniface extended far beyond the mere confines of this county. Ephraim Smith was twice married and had a large family of children, the numerous descendants of whom, in this generation, are widely scattered throughout this section of Ohio and many of whom have wandered into other states. Of this numerous family probably the best-known member in Clinton county is the gentleman whose name forms the caption for this interesting biographical review. Simeon G. Smith, a well-known lawyer of Wilmington, who for years has been recognized as one of the leaders of the bar of the Clinton circuit court.

Simeon G. Smith was born on a farm situated on the line separating Washington and Clark townships, In Clinton county, Ohio, on August 13. 1848, son of Amos and Hester A. (Morris) Smith. the former of whom was born on the old Sintth homestead

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in this county, in April, 1524, and died in April, 1879, and the latter of whom was born at Huntsville, Alabama, in 1822 and died in 1898.

The family of Smiths from which Simeon G. Smith is descended bad its origin in this country early in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, when Ephraim Smith, an English sallor, weary of salling the seven seas, located in Long Island, later moving with his family to New Jersey, where he spent the remainder of his days. Ephraim Smith was born in England in 1601 and died on March 27, 1750, at the age of fifty-nine years, three months and two days. He and his wife, Hannah, the latter of whom died on February 5, 1736, were the parents of four children, namely: Ephraim, born on Decem- ber 15, 1727; Simeon, great-grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, born on Friday, January 16, 1730, and died on November 27, 1807; Hannah, born on January 4, 1732, and Daniel, born on June 21, 1734, and dled on September 27, 1749.

Simeon Smith, after whom the subject of this sketch was named, was reared to the blacksmith trade and became a man of substance in his home community in New Jersey. On Thursday, June 9, 1768, he was united in marriage to Catherine Servis, daughter of Uri and Elizabeth Servis, and to this union six children were born, as follow : Elizabeth, born on August 29, 1771; Sarah, November 7, 1773; Anna, December 6, 1775; Ephraim, grandfather of Simeon G., born on April. 7, 1778. died on October 14, 1838; Cornelius, October 12, 1750, died on January 15, 1859, and Rebekah, October 13, 1783, died on January 7, 1860.

Ephraim Smith, in the third generation from Ephraim, the English sailor, was the first of the line to locate in Clinton county, as set out above. He was twice married, his first wife. Sarah Higgins, grandmother of Simeon G. Smith, having been a daughter of Matthew Higgins, a soldier in the patriot army from New Jersey during the Revolu- tionary War. Upon her death he married, secondly. Rebecca Dolby, and by both unions had issue, the children of the first union numbering six, namely : Ephraim, a farmer of the Clarksville neighborhood, now deceased; Jonathan, also a former well-known farmer of this county, now deceased; Amos, father of the subject of this sketch; Mary, who married Benjamin N. Austin ; Mrs. Eliza Batson and Mrs. Fordyce, To the second union four children were born, as follow : Mrs. Lois Austin, Mrs. Rebecca Osborne, Samuel (deceased ) and George, who is living in Iowa.

Amos Smith was reared on the farm in Vernon township and was a farmer prac- tically his whole life. During the period of the Civil War he conducted a general store in the village of Morrisville and then bought a farm in Highland county, this state, on which he spent the remainder of bis life. Hle married Hester A. Morris, member of one of the well-known pioneer families of Highland county and he and his wife early became recognized as among the most influential members of the community in which they resided. Hester A. Morris was the daughter of William and Depbsey ( Bales) Morris, the former a Virginian and the latter a native of Alabama. William Morris left Vir- ginia during his early manhond. going to Alabama, where he engaged in farming. There he married Dephscy Bales and about the year 1835 came to Ohio, locating in Highland county, where he became a substantial farmer, spending the rest of his life there, living to the great age of ninety-eight years. His wife died at the age of eighty-three and William Morris married, secondly, at the age of eighty-four. Ile was a prominent mem- . ber of the Disciples church and took an active part in the affairs of his community, being an influential factor in both the civic and religious life of the county. Amos Smith and his wife also were members of the Disciples church and were active in all good works thereabout. Amos Smith was an ardent Whig and upon the organization of the Republican party transferred his allegiance to that party, for many years being recog- nized as one of their leaders in his neighborhood. For years he served his community as a magistrate and the soundness of his judgments in such local disputes as required adjudication in bis court, secured to him wide fame as a just Judge.

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

To Amos and Hester A. (Morris) Smith were born six children, namely : Samantha, now deceased, who married S. J. Brown ; Simeon G., the immediate subject of this sketeb ; Mary E., who died in the year 1868, at the age of seventeen; Hiram P., a substantial farmer, of Hillsboro, this state; Sophronia, wife of Judge Savage, of Wilmington, this county, and Almeda, who also lives in Wilmington.

Simeon G. Smith's youth was spent at Morrisville, his elementary education being received in the schools of that pleasant village. He supplemented this instruction by n course in Grear's Commercial College at Dayton, this state, after which he entered the law office of Governor MeBurney, at Lebanon, Ohio, as a student. So effectively did he upply himself to the study of law under his excellent preceptor that at the end of twe years, in 1874, he was admitted to the bar at Lebanon. After thus qualifying for the prac- tice of law, Mr. Smith returned to his native county, locating at Wilmington, where he since has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. ['pon locating in Wilmington, Mr. Smith formed a partnership with the Hon. John S. Savage, former congressman from this district, a mutually satisfactory arrangement which continued until the death of the latter in 1884. Mr. Smith then formed a partnership with W. W. Savage, and this connection continued until the latter's elevation to the bench of the Clinton circuit court in 1900, whereupon Mr. Smith entered into a partnership with F. M. Clevenger, a happy combination of talents, which still exists, to the mutual satisfaction of both. Mr. Smith's success as a lawyer was assured from the very start and be rapidly rose to a commanding position at the bar of the Clinton circuit court, quickly achieving a reputation for prudent and sagacious practice which extended far throughout this see- tion of the state, Few legal frms in this part of Ohio are better established than that of Smith & Clevenger, that firm's clientele including many important connections here- about.

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History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, Part 59

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1108

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108