USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 49
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Henry Layer spent his boyhood in assisting his father and brothers to develop the homestead place and in attending the district schools. He early evidenced an inclination to become an educator, and at the age of nineteen years secured his first experience in this line in a small log schoolhouse in Van Buren township, his services being remunerated at the rate of ninety cents per day. Mr. Layer's school teaching period lasted for twenty-six years, during which he had charges in Darke, Miami and Montgomery counties, and his worth was recog- nized by the commissioners paying him as high as $2.75 per day.
While a resident of Montgomery county, in 1865, Mr. Layer was married (first) to Miss Elizabeth Bower, and to this union there were born three children: Hannah E., now the wife of John A. Hoffman, of Arcanum, Ohio; Frank P., who is mar- ried and has three children, a resident of Franklin township, and Simon P., who lives in Howard county, Indiana, married
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and has three children. Mrs. Elizabeth Layer died in July, 1894, and November 23, 1901, Mr. Layer was married (second) to Mrs. Sarah (Landis) Bashore, daughter of Daniel and Susannah (Deeter) Landis, formerly of Pennsylvania. There were fourteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Landis, Mrs. Layer being the seventh in order of birth. Nine children are now living. She was born, reared and educated in Franklin township, where she was married in Miami county (first) to Henry Bashore, by whom she had four children, as follows : Martha, who married A. W. Snyder of Miami county, and has six children; Isaac, of Darke county, the father of four chil- dren; Daniel W., also of this county, who has three children, and Harry, living in Miami county, the father of one child. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Layer, Margaret Lucille, born on the home farm August 28, 1907.
Mr. Layer's real estate operations have been worthy of note. In 1866 he bought a house and lot at Phillipsburg, Montgom- ery county, for which he paid $490, this sum having been earned through teaching. Later he purchased a vacant lot ad- joining for $150 and subsequently sold the entire property. In 1869 he bought thirty-five acres of land for $1,800, and made that property his home for two years, when he was able to sell it for $2,000. He then came to Franklin township, where he bought two small tracts, one of eighteen and one-half acres with a residence, for $1,500, and the other of forty acres, also with, a dwelling, for $1,600, and six weeks later disposed of the latter for $1,800. He added to the first tract until he had thirty- two acres and resided thereon for eleven years, disposing of his time between teaching and farming, and in 1881 sold out for $2,560. In 1882 the property which he now lives on became his home, the purchase price being $3,500, and to this forty-one and one-half acres there have since been added six acres across the road, this land costing $1,200.
Mr. Layer is a stalwart Democrat and is known as one of his party's foremost men in this part of the county. As early as 1872 he was honored by election to the office of township trustee, and following his term in that capacity was next chosen by his fellow townsmen as township assessor. His work in assessing the whole township, in 1874, so favorably im- pressed the people that he was elected justice of the peace, and acted in that judicial office for three yars. In 1875 he be- came township clerk, in 1876 was elected assessor, and in 1877 was again made justice of the peace for a term of three years,
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being his own successor in that office in 1880 for a like period. In 1889 he was made land appraiser for the whole township of Franklin, an office to which he was re-elected in 1909. In 1887 Mr. Layer was commissioned notary public, a capacity in which he has acted for more than a quarter of a century, and the able and faithful manner in which he has acquitted him- self in the discharge of his public duties may be deduced from the fact that in all his cases none have been reversed. Judge Layer is not a professed member of any church, but all re- ligious movements have his hearty support, and he is well known as a liberal donator to charitable movements. Mrs. Layer holds membership in the Dunkard church.
L. A. NAUSS.
In reviewing the career of L. A. Nauss, of Greenville, the biographer finds all the elements which combine to produce American self-made manhood. It was his fortune to be born of sturdy parents, to be reared in the habits of industry and thrift and to early learn the lessons of honesty and straight- forward dealing. Further than that fortune has had naught to do with his success. Mr. Nauss's career speaks for itself; he takes a pardonable degree of pride in the fact that he has always been a worker, and that his prosperity has been gained through the medium of his own well-applied efforts.
Mr. Nauss was born at York Haven, York county, Penn- sylvania, May 1, 1854, and is a son of John B. and Minerva (Repmand) Nauss. His father, known as one of the finest sawyers on the Susquehannah river, moved to Goldsboro, Pa., where he was living at the time of his enlistment, in 1864, in Company B, Two Hundredth regiment, Pennsylvania volun- teer infantry, for service during the Civil war. He fought bravely as a soldier until receiving a severe wound in the left thigh, the sciatic nerve being severed, and from that time until the close of hostilities he was confined to his bed in various federal hospitals. After receiving his honorable discharge and recuperating his health he resumed his trade of sawyer, and continued to be so engaged until his death, January 25, 1905, the mother having passed away two years before. He was a Republican in political matters, and for many years served his community in the capacity of constable. Both he and Mrs.
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Nauss were faithful members of the United Brethren church. They were the parents of five children, of whom one died in infancy.
The eldest of his parents' children, L. A. Nauss received an ordinary public school education, and at the age of sixteen years assumed the responsibilities of life by apprenticing him- self to the trade of tinner. His remuneration for the first year was twenty-five dollars, the second year he received thirty-five ยท dollars, and during the third year ten dollars more were added to his stipend. After one year as a journeyman he embarked in business on his own account at New Cumberland, Pa., con- tinuing therein for sixteen years, when his plant was totally destroyed by fire and he was forced to commence all over again. With sturdy determination he resumed activities, and through energy and perseverance built up another business, of which he disposed in 1890. His advent in Darke county oc- curred in 1894, when he came to Greenville and built a saw- mill, and his well-directed energies and able management com- bined to make him one of the forceful factors in the lumber manufacturing industry of this section. In July, 1912, Mr. Nauss embarked in the manufacture of galvanized steel tanks, in partnership with his son, and their factory on Thir- teenth street is one of the thriving industries of the city. In addition he continues the manufacture of hardwood lumber, on Front street and Hiddeson avenue, and in connection there- with carries on a lively retail trade in coal.
Mr. Nauss was married January 14, 1875, at West Fairview, Pa., to Miss Anna S. Welty, of that city, who was born in the city of Dayton, Ohio, a daughter of Emanuel and Mary E. (Enoch) Welty. Mr. Welty was born in the Keystone State and as a young man came to Ohio, being married in Springfield and subsequently moving to Dayton. He was a railroad con- ductor by occupation, and eventually accepted a position which took him to Illinois, his subsequent years being passed near Olney and Springfield in that State. He died when Mrs. Nauss was five years old, after which the mother took her little brood to York, Pa., where Mrs. Nauss was living at the time she first met her husband. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Nauss, of whom the oldest and youngest died in infancy. The others are : Ralph W., Ira L., born at New Cumberland, Pa., November 1, 1877, head sawyer of his father's factory and his partner in the coal business, married December 25, 1898, Miss Addie Wagner of Greenville, and has six children : Olive
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M., born in Pennsylvania, residing at home, and head book- keeper in her father's office; Grace E., born in Pennsylvania, married Adelbert Wilson of Greenville, and has one son; and Ray J., born in Pennsylvania, his father's partner in the manu- facture of tanks, married Hettie Little and has one son.
Ralph W. Nauss was born at New Cumberland, Pa., was graduated from the high school at Greenville and an academy at Harrisburg, Pa., and then entered the Ohio State Univer- sity, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Science. Earning a scholarship in the medical college of Northwestern University, Chicago, he spent three years in that institution, and following his graduation with the degree of Doctor of Medicine he became an interne in a hospital in the Illinois metropolis. Subsequently he went to Zeigler, Ill., and after successfully passing a civil service examination was sent to Panama as a physician, and was shortly appointed chief chem- ist of his department. After three years he resigned and re- turned to Greenville, but not long thereafter went to London, England, to study tropical diseases. He later went to Liver- pool, where he was given the degree of Doctor of Tropical Medicines, following which he took an extended trip through Germany and Switzerland. On his return to the United States he traveled through Yellowstone Park and the western part of the country, and then again went to England, where he went into an experimental laboratory to study sleeping sickness and blackwater fever, and remained so engaged for nine months. Once again he returned to the United States, but after a few months spent in review work in Chicago he went to Ger- many, where he resided with a German family while learning the language of the Fatherland. To further prepare himself for the work which he had in view, he next went to France, took up his residence in the home of a Parisian, and there con- . tinued until he had mastered the French tongue. With this thorough preparation he went to Belge, on the Congo river, in Africa, where he has since devoted himself to the admirable and humane work of a medical missionary for the Baptist Foreign Missions.
L. A. Nauss is a Republican in politics and has been stal- wart in his support of the Grand Old Party since casting his first vote in 1876 for President Hayes. He has never cared for office. With his family, he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. The pleasant family home is located at No. 408 Grey avenue.
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I. K. HOLLINGER.
The importance of Greenville as a manufacturing center has been forwarded by a group of energetic, able business men whose activities have been concentrated upon this field of en- deavor and whose large and varied operations have made the city generally recognized in manufacturing circles of the state. Prominent among these men is found I. K. Hollinger, secre- tary and manager of the Hollinger Fence Company, located at No. 601 Front street, a sterling citizen who has at all times merited the respect in which he has been held. Mr. Hollinger is a native of Darke county, Ohio, and was born on a farm, October 20, 1863, son of Samuel and Mary (Kunkle) Hollinger.
On both the paternal and maternal sides Mr. Hollinger comes of German grandparents, while both his father and mother were born in Pennsylvania. Samuel Hollinger was a farmer, and died in Darke county when his son was about ten years of age, the latter securing but an ordinary educa- tion in the public schools. I. K. Hollinger remained with his mother until he was eighteen years of age, and at that time faced the world on his own account. When he was twenty- one years old he secured a farm, a tract of forty acres, on which be settled down to a wedded life and which he continued to operate until selling his interests in 1890. At that time he became the organizer and incorporator of the Hollinger Fence Company, which was first established at Covington, Ohio, but which in 1892, seeking a wider field, was brought to Green- ville. The capacity of the factory is now from 800 to 1,000 rods of fencing a day, and from 300 to 400 tons of spring cotters a year, and the product finds its market largely in Darke county. From its modest inception the business has enjoyed a steady and continued growth, which must be accredited to its ener- getic and capable manager and secretary. He has been tire- less in his efforts, has at all times manifested high business tal- ents, judgment, acumen and foresight, and his shrewdness to discern opportunities, his courage in grasping them, and his ability in carrying his projects through to a successful conclusion have made him one of the city's most substantial men. Mr. Hollinger has not placed "all of his business eggs in one basket," for he has large outside investments, including 1,040 acres of land at Deming, New Mexico, which he owns in partnership with his sons, and there the family reside. Mr.
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Hollinger is a republican, but has evidenced no desire for pub- lic office, the onerous nature of his large business interests demanding his time and attention to the exclusion of politics. This does not mean, however, that he is not interested in the affairs of his community ; on the other hand, Greenville has no more public-spirited citizen, but he has preferred to leave the management of municipal affairs to other hands. Good move- ments and able men always receive his support and his fin- ancial aid. He is a member of the Church of the Brethren at Greenville, and is serving as treasurer and member of the board of trustees thereof.
On August 23, 1884, Mr. Hollinger was united in marriage with Miss Emma F. Woodard, of Darke county, Ohio, and three children have been born to this union, namely : William, a graduate of Greenville high school, who subsequently spent two years in college at North Manchester, Indiana, and one year at Huntington, Pennsylvania, and is now bookkeeper for a land company in New Mexico; Ernest, a surveyor of New Mexico, who learned his vocation in Greenville; and Pauline, born December 23, 1903.
THEODORE FINNARN.
The enterprising American youth is prevented by no un- surmountable walls of fixed custom, no impassable barriers of caste or class from working his way from modest circum- stances and humble conditions to positions of responsibility and prominence in the business world, and the career of Theo- dore Finnarn, of Greenville, illustrates forcibly the opportun- ities here afforded to those who have the desire and the de- termination to accomplish. His life has been one of signal achievements from the time he attained his majority, and today, as proprietor of the livery barn located at No. 20 North- east Public Spuare, he occupies a firmly-established position among the responsible business men of the city. Mr. Finnarn has the added distinction of being a native son of Darke county, Ohio, having been born on a farm in German town- ship, February 12, 1866, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Knee) Finnarn.
Thomas Finnarn, the father of Theodore Finnarn, is now living a retired life at his home at No. 608 Front street. He
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was born on a farm near Noch Crow, Elphin Parish, County Roscommon, Ireland, January 1, 1839, a son of Thomas and Bridget (Gannon) Finnarn. His mother died when he was six weeks old, and his father married Miss Catherine Mc- Manus. Thomas Finnarn, the grandfather of Theodore, came to the United States, intending to subsequently send for his wife and child, but died a few days after his arrival in New York. Three of his wife's brothers, however, were living at Cincinnati, Ohio, and they sent to Ireland for the balance of the family, who went from Dublin to Liverpool, and thence took boat for New Orleans, which city they reached after a voyage of seven and one-half weeks, during which they ex- perienced a heavy storm. The first winter was passed in New Orleans, where the uncles were engaged in a job of ditching, and when Thomas Finnarn was about seven years of age the family moved to Warren county, Ohio, and located at Mor- row, where the lad secured his first education. In the mean- time the uncles were engaged in all kinds of railroad con- struction work, moving from point to point as the lines ad- vanced, and when he was fourteen years of age Thomas Fin- narn began his labors as a water boy, his first wages being fifty cents a day, on the Zanesville Railroad. The family re- sided at various points in Ohio, including Branch Hill and Loveland, and continued to follow the railroads to other parts of the country, so that at the age of sixteen years Thomas Finnarn was employed by a contractor in Mississippi for twelve dollars a month and board. On March 12, 1856, after spending a year in Cincinnati, Mr. Finnarn came to Darke county, Ohio, and began work on a farm at wages of ten dollars a month and board. He was married in German township, March 12, 1863, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Knee) McCabe, who had two children by her first marriage. To her second union there were the following children: Theodore, the sub- ject of this review; Levi, who is a blacksmith and carries on his trade in Greenville; Irvin, born in 1870, who died at the age of twelve years; Nina, who married Frank Kerst and died without issue; Effie, who married Elmer Kester, a farmer of Greenville township, and has one child; and Harry, who is single. Mr. Finnarn at the time of his marriage was engaged in renting land. His wife, however, owned a tract of twenty five acres, to which they later added by purchase twenty-five acres, and finally bought fifty acres more. Through thrift and able management and making the most of his oppotrunities, he
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became one of his community's successful men, and when he reached the evening of life was able to retire with a well- won competency. His career has been characterized by strict integrity and honesty, loyalty in friendships and fidelity to duty. In his early years he was a democrat and voted for Douglas, but for some years he has supported the Prohibition party. Reared in the faith of the Catholic church, he is now connected with the Reformed denomination.
Theodore Finnarn grew to manhood on the home farm and received a good common school education, following which he for one year attended school under "Daddy" Holbrook, at Lebanon. At the age of twenty-one years he adopted the vo- cation of educator and began to teach country school in Neave township, and during the next six years was known as one of the most popular instructors of this section. While thus engaged, he was married in German township to Mary E. Death, who was born in that township, daughter of William and Mary (McClellan) Death. She died in 1900, having been the mother of two children : one who died in childhood; and W. Ora, born in Greenville, and now a student in the high school. In 1893 Mr. Finnarn moved to Greenville, and in 1897 became a member of the Greenville fire department, with which he was connected until 1904, and then resigned and purchased a livery business on West Third street, from H. H. Davis. This he moved to his present locality in 1908, and his establishment at No. 20 Public Square is fully equipped with the most modern vehicles. Mr. Finnarn is very popular in Greenville and his business is widely patronized. He has always maintained an excellent character for integrity, good judgment and industry. On October 29, 1907, Mr. Finnarn married Miss Martha L. Harthan, of Greenville, who has borne him no children.
Mrs. Finnarn is the daughter of George and Louise (Kegel) Harthan. The father was born September 14, 1839, in the town of Redwitz, state of Bavaria, Germany. He was a son of George and Christina (Martin) Harthan. His father died when the boy was quite young. He received a fair common school ed- ucation and sailed from Bremen for New York in the first steam vessel built by the North German Lloyd line and was about two weeks in crossing to America. He had but five dollars when he landed and as he had been cautioned about being robbed in New York he put it into the hands of a broth- er-in-law for safe keeping. It was certainly safely kept as it
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was never returned. He also worked six months for the same man but never received any pay for that. He worked in New York about eight years, some of the time at stone mason work. While in New York he was married to Miss Louise Kegel, who was born in Hanover, Germany. Moved to Miami county, Ohio, in 1866, where he became the owner of some property, which he traded for forty acres of land in Allen township, Darke county, Ohio. In 1877 he moved to that place. His wife died while living in Allen township. To them were born ten children, of whom seven grew to years of maturity. Mrs. Finnarn is the fifth.
Their home is at No. 226.West Fourth street. Mr. Finnarn is a democrat, but has never cared for the doubtful honors of public life. He has taken much interest in fraternal work, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled all the chairs in both the lodge and the encampment ; and maintains membership also in the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men.
ORA O. MCCLELLAN.
Through the more than thirty-three years, during which he has been a resident of Greenville, Ora O. McClellan has been engaged in a variety of pursuits, in all of which he has shown himself progressive, enterprising and persistent. He has for the past three years been the proprietor of the teed stable, transfer business and grocery delivery business at No. 117 West Main street, and today occupies a substantial and recognized position in the business world of his section. Like many of the successful men of the community, Mr. McClellan is a product of the farm. He was born on his father's property, . at the tollgate on the old Greenville and Palestine turnpike, about one-quarter of a mile east of Palestine, in German town- ship, Darke county, Ohio, December 8, 1872, and is a son of George W. and Elmina (Leas) Mcclellan.
George W. McClellan was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio with his parents as a lad. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools, and during the Civil war became a supporter of the Union as a soldier of Company B, Sixty-ninth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry Mr. McClellan participated in a number of hard-fought battles
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and was a brave and faithful soldier, but escaped injury or capture by the enemy, although in later years he suffered a stroke of palsy, as a result of his army experience. On the farm in German township on which Ora O. McClellan was born, George W. McClellan was united in marriage with El- mina Leas, August 11, 1866. In 1874 the family removed to Palestine, where the father followed the vocation of a tin ped- dler and huckster for about six years, and in 1880 moved with his family to Greenville. Here Mr. McClellan established him- self in the restaurant business, in which he continued to be en- gaged throughout the remainder of his active years. He has now retired from business and is living quietly at his Green- ville home with Mrs. McClellan. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McClellan, namely : Jesse, who died in childhood; Ora O .; Lula, who married Augustus Steinhilber, and had one child, all now being deceased; and Tipp, who is married and lives in Greenville. George W. McClellan is a Republican, but has never been an office seeker. His religious faith is that of the Universalist church, while Mrs. McClellan is a member of the Church of Christ.
The early education of Ora O. McClellan was secured in the district schools, following which he went one year to the Greenville high school. He became one of the world's workers in 1888, when he secured employment as driver of a milk wagon, this continuing to be his occupation for four years. When twenty years of age he went to Jasper county, Illinois, where for one and one-half years he worked on a farm, and then came back to Greenville and became a member of the fire department. During the seventeen years that followed, Mr. McClellan's rise in the department was steady and continued, from the position of driver to engineer and assistant chief. He at all times served in a most acceptable manner, being cool and collected in times of excitement and danger, clear-headed and capable of directing the efforts of his men to the best ad -. vantage. On February 6, 1911, Mr. McClellan resigned his position to enter his present business, of which he has made a decided success. He is a man of sterling honesty, reliable and conscientious in all his dealings, and through his life of integ- rity and honorable transactions has gained and retained the confidence of his associates in all walks of life. His pleasant home is located at 130 West Water street.
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