USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 7
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of the board of public safety. Honorable and upright in all the relations of life, with due regard for the ties of friendship and the duties of citizenship, he has commanded uniform con- fidence and respect and has a large circle of warm and loyal friends.
GEORGE FARRAR TAYLOR.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative distinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life his- tory. It is, then, with an appreciation of these requirements and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored subject whose life now comes under review.
George Farrar Taylor was born in Greenville, Ohio, on June 12, 1868, and is the son of John B. and Martha (Farrar) Tay- lor, the former of whom was a native of Lancashire, England. These parents became early settlers of Greenville, where Mr. Taylor became prominent in business and industrial circles, being the owner of the car shops of Taylor & Brother, which for many years was a well-known manufacturing concern here. However, he suffered a paralytic stroke, from the effects of which he died a few years later. His wife, who survived him, is also deceased. In their religious faith they were Episcopal- ians and were folk of sterling character and strictest integrity" . of word and action. They were the parents of nine children, namely : Virginia, now the widow of Henry Amann; Nellie, the widow of Harry Lawton; Gertrude, the wife of M. P. Simison of Richmond, Ind .; Clarence, of San Francisco, Cal .; Robert, of Seattle, Wash .; Morris, who is manager for the Standard Oil Company at Greenville; George F., of Green- ville; Sadie, who is bookkeeper and stenographer for the Kuntz & Wright Lumber Company; Maude, wife of George M. McClure, of Sidney, Ohio.
George F. Taylor was reared in Greenville, and is indebted to the public schools of this city for his education. At the early age of about twelve years he began earning money for him- self by collecting and sending laundry to Dayton, in which he
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was successful and in which minor business affair he secured some insight into business methods. In 1885 he began driving a grocery wagon for Barnhard Blottman, with whom he re- mained about five and a half years, when his employer sold out to C. C. Stoltz Company, with whom he remained, as he did also with their successors, Lockwood & Company, and later Lockwood, Parsons & Gott, Mr. Taylor remaining in that business about sixteen consecutive years. He then went to Marion, Ohio, and was employed in the wholesale establish- ment of C. C. Stoltz for about a year and a half. Returning then to Greenville, he soon afterwards went to Cincinnati and engaged in the hotel and restaurant business, but in 1903 he again returned to Greenville and entered the employ of the Ross Supply Company in the capacity of shipping clerk. He was faithful to the duties assigned him, gained the confidence of the firm and, as opportunity offered he was promoted from time to time until in 1908, he became secretary and treasurer of the company, which positions he holds today, enjoying to a marked degree the confidence and good will of his business associates, but also the respect and esteem of all who have busi- ness dealings with him. The Ross Supply Company was estab- lished in Greenville in 1903 by J. H. A. Ross and Peter Verneer, who ran the business as partners about two years, when they sold their interests to the Ross Supply Company. The latter company was incorporated with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars, but so rapidly has the business grown that it has become necessary to enlarge the capital stock, until today it stands at one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. This concern manufactures all kinds of stoves, pumps, plumb- ers' supplies, street castings, etc., and do a general business in plumbing and heating supplies. The present officers of the company are as follows : President, C. E. Breaden; vice-presi- dent, Chas. J. Herr, of the P. Kuntz & Wright Lumber Com- pany, and secretary and treasurer, George F. Taylor. Their business extends through a number of the neighboring States and their goods are also shipped to Europe. They manufacture a high grade of goods and have gained an enviable reputation in the trade. They employ between fifty and seventy people.
On the 4th day of November, 1897, George F. Taylor was married to May Summerville, who was born in Greenville, Ohio, the daughter of James and Emaline (Holt) Summer- ville, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New Jersey. Her father is now deceased, and is survived by
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his widow, who now lives in Greenville. They were the par- ents of five children, of whom Mrs. Taylor is the only one now living.
Politically, Mr. Taylor is an ardent supporter of the Re- publican party, but has no aspirations in the way of office holding or public preferment. Fraternally, he is a member of Greenville Lodge No. 143, Free and Accepted Masons. Re- ligiously he and his wife are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member of the board of stewards. One of the strongest facts in Mr. Taylors favor is that his warmest friends are among those who have known him from boyhood. No trust reposed in him has ever been be- trayed, and his loyalty to truth and the right are among his strongest characteristics, so that he has honestly earned the high standing which he has long enjoyed in this community.
CONRAD KIPP.
One of the most prominent facts in relation to the national population statistics is the remarkably large number of people of Germanic descent now living in the United States, there be- ing today more Germanic blood here than any other. This being the case, it is easy to account for the prosperity and morality of the country. Germany is famous the world over for the industry, patience, intelligence, morality and sturdi- ness of its citizens. These qualities have been brought to this country by the immigrants and are now part and parcel of our wonderful nation-its progress in domestic economy, its advancement in every branch of material improvement and its love of country and home. Among the well-known citizens of Germanic descent now living in Greenville, Ohio, none occu- pies today a more conspicuous place than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this article, than whom none oc- cupies a higher place in the confidence and esteem of the peo- ple at large.
Conrad Kipp, who, until August 1, 1913, was a successful druggist and president of the Farmers' National Bank of Greenville, was born in the city which is now honored by his citizenship on September 23, 1860, and is the son of William and Barbara (Reich) Kipp, both of whom were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany. The subject's paternal grandfather,
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Statual Heis Kipp, was a prominent officer in Rosenfeld, Ger- many, and he and his wife both died in that country when well along in years. They had a large family of children, namely : Charles, Conrad, Wiliam, Edelheidt, August, Henry, John and Adam. Of these, William was reared in his native country, and educated in the excellent schools there, after which he learned the trade of a fancy baker. About 1856 he came to the United States, locating first in Cincinnati. Event- ually he came to Greenville, where he was first employed as a barber. Subsequently he engaged in the drug business in partnership with Conrad Schaible, with which enterprise he was actively identified until 1887, when he sold his interests to his sons, Conrad and Charles A. He died in 1905, at the age of seventy-two years, and his wife died in October, 1902. Both were earnest members of the Lutheran church. His wife, Barbara, was a daughter of Michael Reich, a native of Ger- many, and who, together with his wife, died in his native land. He was a shoemaker by trade, and lived to an advanced age. Among the children born to him and his wife were John, Will- iam, Catherine, Mary and Barbara. To William and Barbara Kipp were born these children: Emma, the widow of Jacob Martina, of Pulmona, Wash .; Conrad, the immediate subject of this review; Bertha, of Greenville, Ohio; Charles A., who died on October 12, 1909; William R., of Wallace, Idaho; Ed- ward, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and two, Augustus and Tillie, who died in childhood.
Conrad Kipp was reared under the parental roof in Green- ville, securing a good practical education in the public schools. He then entered his father's drug store as clerk, and while so employed gave serious study to pharmacy, in which he be- came an expert. In 1887, as mentioned above, he and his brother, Charles A., bought their father's interest in the busi- ness, the brother remaining connected with the business up to the time of his death, since which time the subject has con- ducted the business. He has been very successful in this line, having given careful attention to the wants of the public, which he has endeavored to supply, carrying a large and well selected line of drugs and druggist's sundries and treating his patrons with that courtesy and attention which always create a favorable impression and beget friendships. Mr. Kipp has been prospered in his financial affairs and is a stockholder and a director of the Greenville Home Telephone Company, presi- dent of the Union City Telephone Company, while since the
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death of Henry St. Clair he has been president of the Farmers National Bank, one of the solid and influential monetary in- stitutions of Darke county. In many other local enterprises Mr. Kipp is interested and he has been an important factor in advancing the business interests of this thriving city.
On October 8, 1885, Conrad Kipp was united in marriage with Laura Mearick, daughter of William and Samria (Finney) Mearick. These parents were for a number of years residents of Union City, later coming to Greenville, where they both died. They had five children, William, George, Mattie, Nan- nie and Laura.
Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Kipp are members of the Epis- copal church, in which Mr. Kipp is a member of the vestry. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, being affil- iated with the Greenville blue lodge No. 143; Greenville Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Reed Commandery No. 6, Knights Templar, and to Antioch Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically, Mr. Kipp has always given his support to the Republican party, and has rendered effective service as a member of the city council, in which he has served two terms. Mr. Kipp is held to be one of the ablest business men of the county and is held in the highest regard by all who know him. He is essentially public spirited in his atti- tude toward every movement having for its object the ad- vancement of the best interests of the people and by a life of right living he has honestly earned the enviable standing he enjoys among his fellows.
HONORABLE ORLA E. HARRISON.
Former Senator Harrison is known throughout the country because of his work as Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, in which position he made an honorable record and scored numerous successes for the gov- ernment.
He belongs to one of the older families of Darke county and is now senior member of the law firm of Harrison & Allread, who have offices in the New Hayden building, Co- lumbus, Ohio.
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THE NEW YORK PUBLICLIBRARY
ASTOR LENOX
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Mr. Harrison was born in German township, Darke coun- ty, February 8, 1873, being the youngest child of George W. and Mary (Rupe) Harrison.
George W. Harrison was born in Darke county August 31, 1842, and was the son of James and Hannah (Bowen) Harri- son. James Harrison was born in Kentucky and his wife in Greene county, Ohio. Their parents located in the vicinity of Bethel, Ind., just across the state line and the young couple settled in Darke county about the time of their mar- riage in 1832. They located on a farm in German township and there their children were born. They purchased land in the southwest corner of the township and at the intersect- ing point of three counties. It is said that by walking around a stump which stood near their house, one walked through the corners of Darke county, in Ohio, and Randolph and Wayne counties, Indiana, thus passing through two states, three counties and four townships. James Harrison subsequently purchased land in the adjoining township of Harrison in Darke county but retained the ownership of the original farm. He became one of the largest landholders in his part of the county and was identified with every public enterprise of his time. Both he and his wife were charter members of the Christian church at Hollansburg, Ohio, and he helped to erect the church edifice. They were zealous workers in the cause and their home was the stopping place for ministers who came to the neighborhood to preach. James Harrison died at the age of about fifty-one years as the result of a kick by a horse, but his widow lived to the age of ninety, passing away at the home of her daughter in Union City, Indiana, where she had been residing. This family made a pioneer home and were active in all movements for the good of their community. They reared a fine family and left an honorable name in the county they had chosen for their residence.
George W. Harrison grew to manhood on the home farm. He served his country in the war for the preservation of the Union, enlisting in Company G, 44th Ohio volunteer infantry in 1861. His marriage to Mary Rupe took place just before he left for the front. He took part in the battle of Lewis- burg and also a number of minor skirmishes in Virginia, but was taken sick and sent to a hospital. He was given an hon- orable discharge and his young wife went to Virginia to bring him home. After his return from the war and the recovery of his health, he engaged in the mercantile business, conduct- (6)
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ing a general store at Palestine and Tampico, German town- ship and still later at Union City, Indiana. He later moved to Illinois and bought land near Centralia, but the climate did not agree with him, as ague was prevalent in southern Illinois at that time and Mr. Harrison remained there only a few years and then returned to Ohio. He was a democrat in politics and was prominent in local affairs, serving as mayor of Hollansburg several years and as postmaster at that place. Mrs. George W. Harrison passed away in 1908, mourned by a large circle of friends. They had six children, of whom three died in infancy and three survived. The eldest daughter, Della, married John P. Gilbert and they live in Greenville. They have two children living, Mrs. Ruby (Gilbert) Wil- loughby, who lives in Chicago and Roland, a student at Co- lumbus. The other daughter, Ida, married Thomas C. Pitsen- berger and they live in Columbus and have two sons, one of whom, Herbert, is a wireless operator on a vessel sailing the Gulf of Mexico; the other son, Lowell, is a student at Colum- bus. The third surviving child of Mr. George W. and Mary Harrison is the subject of this sketch.
In boyhood Orla E. Harrison attended the village school at Hollansburg and later attended the Greenville high school, graduating with the class of 1892. He then took a course at the National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio, receiv- ing the degree of Bachelor of Science. He began his career as a teacher, first in a country school, later at Hollansburg, and then as principal of the high school at Franklin, Warren county, for two years. While yet a student in high school, Mr. Harrison chose the law as his future profession and be- gan reading under the direction of Judge James I. Allread. In 1897, while engaged in teaching he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in 1899 with his former instructor, Judge Allread, who was associated at that time with Judge Tee- garden, the new firm being known as Allread, Teegarden and Harrison.
Mr. Harrison became prominent in public affairs when he was chosen as secretary of the Darke County Agricultural Society, and became well known throughout the county be- cause of his work in that capacity. Although his father was a democrat, he became a republican before he cast his first presidential ballot in 1896 and during that campaign made many public speeches in Ohio and Indiana.
In 1901 he was elected State Senator from the Twelfth Dis-
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trict, comprised of the counties of Darke, Shelby and Miami, and was re-elected in 1903. At the time of his election he was the youngest senator of the state and is the only republican ever elected to that position from Darke county. During his term he was secretary of the senate committee on taxation, in which position he helped frame a series of measures for the taxation of corporations. He was also chairman of the com- mittee on county affairs and a member of the judiciary com- mittee and several others. During his second term he was chairman of the committee on schools and at that time in- troduced what is known as the Harrison School Code and the Harrison Library Code.
In 1906 he was appointed by Wade H. Ellis, Attorney-Gen- eral of the State, as special counsel and thereupon moved to the state capital at Columbus. Here he achieved a wide reputation, serving during the administration of Ellis and of his successor, U. G. Denman. The principal cases in which he participated were suits under the anti-trust law of the state, especially the actions against the bridge trust, the plumbers' trust and the Standard Oil Company. The esteem and confidence reposed in him by the highest court of the state is shown by his appointment by that court as a member of the committee to examine students for admission to the bar. He served in this capacity for several years, having been elected secretary of the committee.
In April, 1909, Mr. Harrison was appointed special assistant to the United States Attorney-General, George W. Wicker- sham. He thereupon resigned his state position and moved to the capital of the United States. His work in interstate commerce cases soon attracted attention and in 1911 he was detailed to take charge of certain litigation against several coal carrying railroads. This necessitated his removal from Wash- ington to Cleveland, where he resided until June, 1912, when he located in Columbus because of various suits pending in that jurisdiction. Among the famous prosecutions in which he took part were those of the Southern Wholesale Grocers' Association; the National Cash Register Company, in which twenty-nine men were convicted; the coal carrying roads and the wall paper trust. These cases in which Senator Harri- son was a conspicuous figure attracted national attention. He was one of the youngest attorneys associated with work of this character and one of the most fearless, well earning his title as "trust buster" by the work he accomplished. He
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tendered his resignation in March, 1913, but it was not ac- cepted. Desiring to devote himself to private practice he asked to be relieved from further duty on January 1, 1914, and his resignation was accepted by Attorney-General Mc- Reynolds, with whom he served during a part of the Wilson administration.
While teaching at Franklin, Ohio, Mr. Harrison was mar- ried December 28, 1898, to Miss Virginia Eidson, a native of Greenville, Ohio, and graduate of the Greenville high school with the class of 1894, and daughter of Frank M. and Lu- cetta (Kiester) Eidson. Three children have blessed this union : Eidson E., born at Franklin in October, 1899, now a student in the eighth grade in the Columbus public school; Ellis B., born in Greenville August 4, 1905; Barbara Lou, born in Cleveland November 5, 1911. The family have a pleasant home at 960 Bryden Road, Columbus, and are active in various social and fraternal circles.
When about twenty years old Mr. Harrison became a mem- ber of the Christian church at Hollansburg, of which his grandfather was a charter member as above mentioned. In 1909 he became a member of the Masonic order in Greenville and has taken the chapter degree. He has served in the chief offices of the Knights of Pythias and belongs to the Elks. He joined the Sons of Veterans' order in Cleveland, the lodge at Greenville having been disbanded. Mr. Harrison is known to be a man of upright principles and high ideals and has given a great deal of thought to all the matters of the day, more especially as they affect the welfare of the state and nation. He has a high reputation in his profession and is considered one of the leading members of the Columbus bar.
AARON C. BRANDON, ESQ.
Darke county, Ohio, enjoys a high reputation because of the high order of her citizenship, and none of her citizens occupies a more enviable position in the esteem of his fellows than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. A life-long residence here has given his fellows a full opportunity to observe him in all the lines of activity in which he has engaged and his present high standing is due solely to the honorable and upright course he has pursued.
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As a leading citizen of his community he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of this character.
Aaron C. Brandon, the well known lawyer and justice of the peace of Greenville, was born in Richland township, this. county, on the 20th of April, 1859, and is the son of Alexander B. and Anna (Shafer) Brandon. Alexander Brandon was born in Darke county, Ohio, and was reared to the life of a farmer. Though born in Wayne township, he spent most of his life in Richland township, where he and his wife became the owners of a fine farm of 213 acres, where they made their permanent family home and reared their children. There they both died, the father on May 2, 1882, aged about sixty-three years, and the mother on December 17, 1881, at the age of fifty- eight years. They were members of the Christian church, he being one of the charter members of the society at Green- ville. They were the parents of ten children, namely: John T., who died while a soldier in the Civil war, when not quite seventeen years of age; Riley M., of Richland township, this county ; Job M., deceased; Dorothy A., wife of Nathaniel P. Kershner, of Ansonia, Ohio; Eugene, of Brown township, this county; Aaron C., the immediate subject of this sketch; James Franklin, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Noah W., of Day- ton, Ohio; Dr. Arthur M., of Beamsville, Ohio, and Retha B., wife of Clifford Thomas, of near Shepherd, Michigan.
Mr. Brandon is an enthusiastic student of the Bible, is a graduate of Professor Watkins, now of Palmer College, Missouri. Mr. Brandon now has a large class made up of different denominations.
The father of Alexander Brandon was James M. Brandon, a native of Virginia, who came to Darke county in young manhood and here married Anna Hole, a native of this county. Here James M. Brandon followed farming, in which he was successful, accumulating considerable land, but later he en- gaged in the milling business, in which venture he lost prac- tically all he had accumulated. His wife died when past fifty years of age, and he survived her many years, dying at the age of eighty-four years. Their thirteen children were named as follows: Zachariah, Alexander B., Aaron C., Thomas A. (a Christian preacher), Elizabeth, Rhoda, Lucre- tia, Hannah, James, Eusebia, and three who died young. James lost his life while in the army during the Civil war.
Anna Shafer who became the wife of Alexander B. Brandon, .was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and was the
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daughter of John and Dorothy (Mann) Shafer, who also were natives of the old Keystone state, and who became early set- tlers in Darke county, becoming successful farming folk in Richland township. There their deaths occurred when they were well advanced in years. They had four children, two of whom died young, the others being Job and Anna.
Aaron C. Brandon was reared on his father's farm in Rich- land township, securing his education in the district and pub- lic schools. Remaining with his father until twenty-two years of age, he then began working out by the month at farm labor. He then attended the Lebanon Normal School for two terms, after which he taught school one winter. He then married and for a time gave his attention to farming. During this period he had entertained an ambition to enter the practice of law and to that end he was devoting his leisure time to the serious study of that science. In December, 1886, Mr. Brandon was admitted to the bar, and later located at Greenville where he entered upon the active practice of his profession, in which he has engaged continuously since. He was city attorney of Greenville for two terms and has in other ways received definite recognition on the part of his fellow citizens. As a justice of the peace he has achieved a splendid record, his decisions being characterized by a high sense of fairness, and few of his decisions have been reversed by the higher court. He has been a busy man through the years, has been connected with much of the most important litigation tried in the local courts, and has won the respect of his professional brethren, as well as the confidence of the general public. Careful and painstaking in the handling of all matters entrusted to him, he has ever had the best interests of his clients at heart, and has frequently been instrumental in bringing about peaceful solutions of difficulties without resorting to the courts, even though it has sometimes meant the loss of professional fees.
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