USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 34
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pure bred Barred Plymouth Rock, Buff Orpingtons and White Leghorn fowls. He has been content to follow farming and not to enter the struggles of the public arena. His views of the temperance question make him a Prohibitionist in poli- tics, but in this he may be said to be somewhat conservative, as he has never been a bigot in any of the affairs of life. With his family, he faithfully attends religious services at jthe Church of the Brethren, of which he has long been a liberal contributing member.
Mr. Baker was married to Miss Mary Crumwine, daughter of John and Sarah (Sinks) Crumwine, and to this union there have been born two children : Frank, who married Mamie McCoy, and has one daughter, Madonna, and Ira, unmarried, who lives with his parents and is the capable manager of the home farm.
MADISON WAGNER.
Since the very earliest pioneer days of Darke county the name of Wagner has been closely identified with the agri- cultural, business and public interests of this part of the State, and members of the family have distinguished themselves in various lines of endeavor here for nearly a century of time. A worthy repreentative of the name is found in the person of Madison Wagner, of Neave township, one of his community's most progressive and public-spirited men and the owner of one hundred acres of fine land on the New Madison road, about four miles north of New Madison, which he is devoting to general farming and the raising of livestock. Mr. Wagner was born November 4, 1859, on the farm which he now occu- pies, and is a son of Jonathan and Emmeline (Throp) Wagner.
John Wagner, the great-grandfather of Madison Wagner, was the founder of the family in Darke county, Ohio, bringing his wife and children here in 1816, from Berks county, Penn- sylvania, and settling on government land, on which he car- ried on operations during the remainder of his life. His son, William Wagner, was ten years of age at the time of the mi- gration here, and, following in his father's footsteps, took up the vocation of farming in young manhood and continued to be engaged therein through his active career. He married Elizabeth Bowers, and both passed away in German township. Jonathan Wagner lived through much of the pioneer history of
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Darke county, and his youth was passed in the hard, unre- mitting toil of clearing land from the virgin forest. He was reared to sturdy manhood, possessed of habits of industry and sobriety, and early decided that the occupation of his fore- fathers was the one in which he would spend his active years. Upon attaining his majority he entered the struggle of life well equipped to fight its battles, and in subsequent years made a decided success of his ventures, accumulating a hand- some competency and becoming known as one of the sub- stantial men of his community. He married Miss Emmeline Throp and they became the parents of eight children, namely : Madison, Elizabeth, Herschel, a resident of German township; William, who lives in Montgomery county, this State; Luella, who married a Mr. Haynes; Frank, who is deceased; Hattie, who married a Mr. Thomas and resides in Colorado, and Ed, of Greenville.
Madison Wagner received his education in the Baker Store school, the Lowry school and the White school, one of his teachers being Thomas Brewer, a well-known educator of his day. He worked on the home farm throughout his school period and at the age of twenty-four years began renting land from his father, which he subsequently bought in partnership with his brother. Later he bought the latter's interests and from that time to the present has carried on farming alone. Mr. Wagner has shown himself one of the most enterprising and energetic agriculturists of his township, ever ready to give a trial to innovations which give promise of advancing agri- cultural work. He has long been an enthusiastic motorist, using his own machine both for pleasure and business pur- poses and is widely known in automobile circles of the county. However, he has never lost his love for horses, and is still a member of the Horse Thief Association. His religious connec- tion is with the Reformed church, in the work of which he and his family have been active. His political convictions make him a Democrat, and he has served in various official capaci- ties, being trustee of Neave township for eight years and a member of the school board for a long period. His business and social relations have brought him into contact with a large circle of acquaintances, and among them he has many warm friends. His success is most creditable, resulting from well directed and honorable effort, and he well deserves his prosperity and the regard in which he is held.
Mr. Wagner was married September 26, 1888, to Miss Re-
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becca Sheets, and three children have been born to this union : Vernon, who is deceased; Earnest, who is assisting his father in the work of the homestead, and Obed, who is attending high school.
DAVID M. HARTMAN.
For forty years the late David M. Hartman was a resident of Darke county, Ohio, and during this long period bore an unsullied reputation, his integrity and honesty gaining for him the unqualified regard and esteem of those with whom he was brought in contact in all walks of life. As a soldier in the Union army when the country was threatened by the forces of secession, he proved himself brave and faithful in the dis- charge of duty, and when he returned to the ranks of peace he just as faithfully discharged every duty of citizenship, at all times lending active support and co-operation to every movement for the public good.
David M. Hartman was born February 23, 1840, in Cumber- land county, Pennsylvania, and was a son of John and Susan- nah (Messinger) Hartman, who never left their Keystone State. David M. was reared to agricultural pursuits, and re- ceived ordinary educational advantages in the public schools of Pennsylvania, but when twenty-one years of age left the parental roof and came to Ohio, first locating in Greenville, where he secured employment as a farm hand for the McCabe family, early settlers of Darke county. He was thus engaged when the Civil war broke across the country in all its tury, and when President Lincoln made his call for volunteer troops, Mr. Hartman was one of the first to offer his services, joining the Eleventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, among the men who enlisted for a term of three months. At the end of this period he again enlisted, this time becoming a member of the hard-fighting Sixty-ninth regiment, Ohio volunteer in- fantry, and when his term with that organization had expired he veteranized in the Fourth United States cavalry. During the time that he was in the army, Mr. Hartman participated in no less than thirty-four engagements, in addition to marches, skirmishes, etc., a record of which any soldier might be proud. He at all times bore himself with the utmost gallantry and earned the admiration of his comrades and the esteem and re- gard of his officers. Upon receiving his final honorable dis-
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charge, he returned to Palestine, Ohio, where he learned the trade of harnessmaker, and this vocation he followed for some time thereafter in Wabash county, Indiana. Later, however, he returned to agricultural pursuits, in which he continued to be engaged throughout the remainder of his active career. He was successful in his ventures because of industry, energy and perseverance, and accumulated a valuable tract of eighty acres of land, located on the Fort Jefferson road, about three miles from Greenville. There he was engaged in farming and stock- raising at the time of his death, which occurred February 7, 1901. Mr. Hartman had formed a wide acquaintance in Neave township during his long residence here, and in it numbered a number of warm friends. He was a man entirely free from ostentation, was kindly and genial in manner, and was always. ready to assist those who had been less fortunate than he. In his death his community lost one of its substantial men.
In 1867 Mr. Hartman was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Jenkinson, daughter of William and Mary (Thomp- son) Jenkinson, early settlers of Darke county, who came from Pennsylvania. Mr. Hartman was a Democrat in politics, but no politician. He lent his support to all religious and charitable movements, although not a professed member of any church. His widow, who survives him and makes her home on the old place in Neave township, is widely known in this vicinity, and a wide circle of friends hold her in the warmest regard.
DAVID C. FOUREMAN.
A sturdy citizen of Darke county, who has witnessed the wonderful changes and lived through the vital drama that has made this one of the agricultural paradises of the Buckeye State, is David C. Foureman of Van Buren, a citizen who has won his way to success over the difficult selfmade paths, and who today can look back over a wellspent and useful career, in the enjoyment of the fruits of his long years of labor. Mr. Foureman is now the owner of six hundred acres of fine land, located on the old State road, about six miles southeast of Greenville. He was born about four miles east of his present home, on the old Henry Foureman homestead in this township, March 12, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Susannah (Baker) Foureman.
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Jonathan Foureman, the grandfather of David C. Foureman, was the founder of the family in Darke county, Ohio, whence he came from Berks county, Pennsylvania, during the admin- istration of John Quincy Adams, and entered six hundred and forty acres of land. Here he spent the remainder of his life in clearing his land and preparing a home for his family, and became one of the solid, substantial men of his community. He was the father of eight children, as follows: Henry, John, Samuel, Mrs. Elizabeth Baker, Jacob, Joseph, Mrs. Mary Baker and William, all of whom are deceased and buried in Darke county. Henry Foureman was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and attended the schools there until sixteen years of age, at which time he accompanied his parents, brothers and sisters to Darke county, and while here went to a subscription school at Ithaca and a district school in Van Buren township, both of these being held in old log buildings. He assisted his father and brothers to clear the home farm, and worked with his father until he was twenty-four years of age, at which time, in recognition of his faithful services, the elder man gave him one hundred and sixty acres, located in section thirty five, in the southeast corner of Van Buren township. To this he added several acres, and later purchased one hundred and sixty acres to the north, and on this property the rest of his active years were spent, but at the time of his retirement he went to Arcanum, Ohio, and there he and his wife both passed away. They were laid to rest in Abbottsville cemetery.
David C. Foureman spent his entire school period in district No. 6, known as the Foureman school, and in the meantime spent the summer months in working on the homestead place. At the age of twenty-one years he received eighty acres of land in section twenty-six, and to this he subsequently added one hundred acres in section fourteen, but later sold both of these tracts and went back to the old homestead. There he remained twelve years, but in 1894 bought one hundred and sixty-one acres of land where he now resides, and to this he has since continued to add until he now has six hundred acres. He has shown himself skilled in all branches of agricultural work, and is a business man of far more than ordinary ability, but at this time is living somewhat retired, feeling that he has earned a rest from his years of strenuous endeavor. He is a most public-spirited and enterprising man. He was rocked in a Republican cradle and has been faithful to the principles ad- vocated by that party ever since he became a voter. As one of
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his locality's most capable and influential men he has been called upon to fill positions of trust and responsibility, having been a member of the school board for fourteen years, trustee of the school board for three years, and a member of the board of trustees of Van Buren township for twelve years, and in all of these capacities has shown himself possessed of high. ideals of citizenship and public service. He is not a professed member of any church, but gives his support to worthy re- ligious and charitable movements.
On October 14, 1866, Mr. Foureman was married to Miss Eliza Unger, daughter of George and Sarah (Merkley) Unger, who came to Darke county, Ohio, from Lancaster county, Pennsylvinia, with their four children : Isaac, John, Eliza and Manda, the last named deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Foureman there have been born the following children : Sarah, deceased, who married Albert Foureman and had four children, Word- sell, Ruby, Jesse and Irena; Isaac, who is deceased; Susannah, deceased, who married Frank Michel and had two children, Estella and Eliza; Amanda, deceased, who married W. Byers, and has four children : Flossie, Ruth, Ralph, and Sadie; Delilah, who married James Allread, and had three children, Archie, Harley and Amal; Lydia, who married John Judy, and had three children, Leonard, Herbert and Raymond; Anna, who married Willis Davis, and has four children, Mildred, Herman, Robert and Everett; Harlus, who married Diana Townsend, and has three children, Melvin, Treven and Pement ;; Charles, who married Opal Reigle and has three children, Pauline, Helen and Dorothy; Pharon, who married Blanche Dines and has two children, Ward and Martha; Worley married Iva Burns. There are twenty-eight grandchildren in this family, and all except three are living in Darke county.
BERT HUNT.
Probably there can be no more satisfactory business con- nection than that which exists between father and sons. The older man's experience and hard-earned knowledge, added to the enthusiasm and progressive ideas of youth, produce a com- bination that is one hard to defeat, and some of Darke county's most successful partnerships are thus composed. There is no exception to this rule in the field of agriculture, and an ex-
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ample of success gained by father and sons is found in Neave township, where Washington Hunt and his two sons, Bert and Ralph Hunt, have carried on farming and stockraising for a number of years. Bert Hunt, the direct subject of this review, is known as one of the youngest stock buyers and shippers of the county, and at this time is operating three hundred and eighty-six acres of excellent land on the Eaton turnpike, op- posite the poor farm in Neave township. He was born north- west of Greenville, near Weimer's grist mill, on the Union City pike May 21, 1880, and is a son of Washington and Mary (Snyder) Hunt. The father, a native of St. Louis, Mo., was brought to the northern part of Darke county, Ohio, when still a lad, and was here reared and educated, and has since spent his life in tilling the soil and in raising valuable live- stock. He and his wife have been the parents of eight children, as follows: Jesse, Nettie and an infant, all of whom are de- ceased; Bert, of this review; Ralph, who is in partnership with his father and brother; Ada, who is now the wife of Orville McEowen, and Clara and Ed, who live at home with their parents.
Bert Hunt received the greater part of his education in the country schools, commencing at the Sugar Valley school house and ending at the Pewee school in Neave township. He was thoroughly trained from earliest youth in the numerous subjects which it is necessary for the successful farmer to know, and even as a lad showed himself an excellent judge of cattle and other livestock. Accordingly, when only sixteen years of age he was admitted to full partnership with his father, and when his younger brother reached that age he also was taken as a partner, this connection having since proved a most satisfactory one in every particular. The extent of the stock business built up by this firm may be seen, when it is known that about one hundred and fifty to three hundred head of cattle are kept on hand all the time, and that in addition to this great numbers of hogs are shipped annually. Mr. Hunt, it would seem, is an extremely busy young man with these large interests under his control, yet he has found time to take an active and helpful interest in all matters that pertain to the welfare of his township and county, and no movement is con- sidered complete that does not have his co-operation and sup- port. A man of genial personality, loyal to his word and sin- cere in his friendships, he is popular all over this section and few men are better known. In politics he has allied himself
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with the new progressive party. A friend of education, he has served for some time as a member of the school board.
On August 22, 1903, Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Rose Suter, daughter of John and Lizzie (Smallenberger) Suter, and to this union there have been born five children : Hildred, John, Carl, Washington, Jr., and an infant.
MURRAY WILLIS DAVIS.
In naming the representative citizens of any community, it is almost invariably found that among the most important and influential are men who embarked upon their careers with lit- tle or no advantages, either of an educational or financial na- ture, and have worked their way to position and affluence through the medium of their own unflagging industry and in- domitable spirit. It would be difficult, perhaps, to find a better example of this class of self-made men than Murray Willis Davis, of Van Buren township, who several years ago was starting his battle with life with little more than willing hands and a sturdy heart, combined with a firm determination to suc- ceed, and who today is the renter of one hundred and twenty- three acres of fine land on the Miller road.
Mr. Davis was born April 16, 1870, in Newton township, Miami county, Ohio, and is a son of William L. and Mahala (Hay) Davis. His father, who was born and reared near Pattysville, passed his entire life in agricultural pursuits and became one of the substantial landowners of his community. He and his wife were the parents of six children : Minnie, who became the wife of a Mr. Stump; Jennie, who married a Mr. Hinchaw; Della, who married a Mr. Nye; Anna, who became the wife of a Mr. Dille; Frank, who is deceased, died in the State of Arkansas in the year 1879, aged five years.
Murray Willis Davis, who is, perhaps, better known as Willis Davis, secured his educational training in the public schools of Pattysville, and in the meantime was thoroughly trained in agricultural pursuits on his grandfather's farm. At the age of twenty-two years he left the parental roof and se- cured employment by the month on the Foureman family farm, in Van Buren township, where his sister resided, and con- tinued to be thus occupied until his marriage, when he moved to his present farm. Mr Davis' subsequent career has been
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one of continuous advancement, his sturdy self-reliance and skill as a farmer and stockraiser gaining him a full measure of success in his chosen field of endeavor. He has added to his property from time to time, and has made it more valuable by the erection of good buildings and various other modern im- provements. He is known as a business man of acumen and foresight, able to grasp any recognized opportunity and to make the most of it, but also a man of the strictest business integrity. He has won many friends through his straightfor- ward manner of handling his affairs, while his good citizenship has never been doubted. The greater part of his time is being devoted to the raising of grain, but other branches of farm work are also being taken care of, and in all departments a full measure of success is being attained. In political matters M -. Davis is a Republican, but he has been too busily engaged in his agricultural operations to enter political life as a seeker for public preferment. With his family he gives his support to religious and charitable movements.
On September 19, 1897, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Anna Foureman, daughter of David C. and Eliza (Unger) Foureman, of Van Buren township, whose review will be found in another part of this work. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis: Mildred, Herman, Robert and Everett.
JAMES R. KNUPP.
James R. Knupp has established a good business in Green- ville, Darke county, through business enterprise and integ- rity, and has won the esteem of his fellow citizens in a gratify- ing degree. He and his father-in-law conduct a high-class garage and shop at the corner of Third and Walnut streets, and have built all the taxicabs operated in the streets of Greenville. They have also rebuilt a great many cars, and in this work have a high reputation. The firm has been es- tablished for about five years and has been successful from the start, at the present time operating the largest garage in the county.
Mr. Knupp was born at Thomasboro, Illinois, March 11, 1880, son of Samuel P. and Louisa (Mendenhall) Knupp, the father born in Virginia in 1851 and now a resident of Sidney, Ohio. Samuel P. Knupp went to Illinois when he was about
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fifteen years of age and made his home in that state until about 1904, when he came to Ohio. He is a machinist by trade. His wife was born at Woodington, Ohio, in 1853, and died in 1907, at Dayton, Ohio, where she is buried. Their four- teen children were born in Illinois and ten of them reached maturity : Lydia, wife of O. E. Ashmore, of Dayton ; Fannie, deceased, wife of Lew Clark, died in Illinois; Eva, wife of C. J. Bullington, of Tiskilwa, Illinois; James, of this sketch; Mary, wife of John Judd, died at Springfield, Illinois; Anna, wife of Claude Ryder, of Dayton; Erva and Ervin, twins, of whom Erva married Elmer Brandenburg, and lives in the west, and Ervin married Lottie Aldrich and resides at Sidney, Ohio; Samuel, of Sidney, married Clara Kinsey, of Illinois; Glenn, at home.
Mr. Knupp received a common-school education in the town of Mansfield, Illinois, and then learned the machinist's trade with his father, who conducted a machine shop. Later he spent four years in the employ of the Seybold Machine Company, of Dayton, Ohio; three years with the Stoddard- Dayton Automobile Company, and for about four years after- wards was foreman in the motor department of the Penn Automobile Company, at Philadelphia. In June, 1909, he and Mr. Wolfe established their present business in Green- ville. Both are enterprising and progressive in their methods and they have many good friends in Darke county, although they are comparatively recent comers to Greenville. The quality of their product is well known in the surrounding country and their customers come to them with the assurance that they wlil receive the best class of work in every particu- lar. Both are experienced mechanics and largely self-made men. Mr. Knupp is a Republican in politics and cast his first presidential vote for William McKinley. He is active in various local affairs and is now serving as treasurer of the Good Roads and Automobile Club. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Elks and he is well known for his geniality and pleasant manner.
On December 19, 1900, Mr. Knupp was united in marriage with Miss Sadie Wolfe, born at Ithaca, Darke county, in 1880, daughter of Daniel and Emma (Black) Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe was born in Darke county and is fifty-five years of age. When his daughter Sadie was about six years old the Wolfe family moved to Illinois, where they lived some twenty years and (24)
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then came back to Darke county. Mrs. Wolfe is also a native of Darke county and is near the same age as her husband. They reside in Greenville and their only child is Mrs. Knupp. Two sons have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Knupp, both born in Dayton: Ralph W., born October 26, 1901, and James Dwight, October 19, 1903, both attending school. Mrs. Knupp is a pleasant, refined woman and they have a comfortable home at 441 Locust street. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. The children are bright and promising and a credit to their parents. Mr. Knupp's inter- ests are identified with Greenville and Darke county and he is ready to work for any cause he believes is for the general good of the community. It is such enterprising, public-spirited men who form the bulwark of the nation and make for its progress and prosperity.
SYLVESTER A. MEYERS.
Through a residence of more than forty-five years in Darke county, Sylvester A. Meyers has become known to his fel- low townsmen as a man who can be trusted at all times and in all places-one who is honorable in business affairs, loyal to the highest principles of citizenship and faithful in his friendships. The success he has gained in life has been well earned, for he lost his father when he was eight years old, and much of his boyhood was spent in hard, unremitting toil. To- day, however, he can look back over a useful life, and as the owner of a fine farm of eighty-seven acres, located about six miles from Greenville, in Neave township, he is known as one of his community's substantial men. Mr. Meyers was born on the farm which he is now operating, March 20, 1868, and is a son of William and Lydia (Tillman) Meyers, who came to Neave township from near Arcanum, Ohio. There was one other child in the family, Edwin, who now resides at New Madison, Darke county.
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