USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 6
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JAMES L. G. TROLLINGER.
James L. G. Trollinger, proprietor of a farm of one hundred and seventy acres in Bath township, was born in that township and has lived there all his life. He was born on February 5, 1864, son of Nimrod and Martha (Shaw) Trollinger, natives of the state of Maryland, who were married in that state and who later came to Ohio and located in Greene county, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Nimrod Trollinger was born in 1827 and grew to manhood in his native state of Maryland. There he married Martha Shaw, who was born in that same state in 1831, and in 1853 he and his wife came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Bath township, this county, where they established their home, reared their family and spent the rest of their lives. Mrs. Trollinger died
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Rosa Trollinger
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in 1896 and Nimrod Trollinger died in 1902. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Mrs. Sarah Batdorf, of Fairfield, this county; Mrs. Mary Jane Paxton, of West Alexandria, this state; Mrs. Elizabeth Burrows, of the Osborn neighborhood in this county; Mrs. Emma C. Harner, of Xenia; Mrs. Julia M. Wolf, of Bath township; Mrs. Martha Ann Lambert, of New Carlisle, Ohio; John H. and Jacob William, twins, the former of whom is living in Bath township and the latter in Miami township, this county, and Charles, who died in his first year.
Reared on the farm on which he was born in Bath township, James L. G. Trollinger received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood. After his marriage in 1887 he established his home on the farm on which he is now living, a part of the old home farm, and has ever since resided there. Mr. Trollinger has served as a member of the district and township school board, for some time clerk of the latter body; as township highway commissioner and as a trustee of the local cemetery association, of which latter organization he is now the secretary. On national issues Mr. Trollinger adheres to the Democratic party, but in local issues reserves his right to vote independently of political parties. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock.
On November 17, 1887, James L. G. Trollinger was united in marriage to Rosa Flatter, who was born in Miami township, this county, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Pearl Ann, who married Ray Wilson and has two children, a son, Howard L. Woodrow, and a daugh- ter, Gladys Irene. Mr. Wilson is farming a part of Mr. Trollinger's farm and lives in a house across the road from the home of the latter. The Trollingers are members of the Reformed church and Mr. Trollinger has been an elder and a deacon of the local congregation for thirty years.
SAMUEL EWING.
The late Samuel Ewing, who formerly and for many years was one of the leading figures in the social life of the city of Xenia and who died at his home, "Roberts Villa," in that city on October 6, 1917, was born in Xenia and had spent all his life there. He was born on September 22, 1833, and was thus past eighty-four years of age at the time of his death. In a notice regarding Mr. Ewing's death the Cincinnati Enquirer referred to the deceased as "a member of one of Greene county's oldest and wealthiest families." As such, Mr. Ewing, of course, had a position to maintain in the community in which he had resided all his life, and he maintained it to the day of his death, a typical "gentleman of the old school."
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Samuel Ewing was a son of John and Prudence W. (Roberts) Ewing, the latter of whom was born in Xenia on December 28, 1814, daughter of Silas and Cassandra (Sparks) Roberts, the former of whom was a Pennsyl- vanian and one of the early residents of Xenia, having settled there in 1808. Upon locating at the new town of Xenia, Silas Roberts bought a tract of two hundred and eighty acres of land immediately north of the townsite and extending south to the line now formed by Church street and gradually increased his holdings there until they comprised many hundreds of acres. Although some of this land was sold, the Roberts estate still comprises five hundred and seventy-eight acres and as all overtures in the way of taking over and platting the same for town-lot purposes have been discouraged by the estate the growth of the city to the north in that section east of Detroit street has been effectually blocked, the only building save "Roberts Villa" in that tract being the public library, a lot for which was set off by the estate when the new library was projected. Silas Roberts died on July 29, 1864. His wife had preceded him to the grave nearly seventeen years, her death having occurred on September 11, 1847. They were married in 1814, and they had seven children, those besides Mrs. Ewing having been the following : Micajah, who died in 1883; Emesetta, who died unmarried in 1900; Diana, who died unmarried in 1914; Louisa, wife of John Lackey, who died in 1910; Mathias who died in California in 1850, and John, who died in 1872. After their brothers and sisters had gone, the Misses Emesetta and Diana Roberts continued to make their home on the old home place and in the '7os they erected there a quite remarkable big brick house, typical of a much-favored style of architecture of the period and handsomely and lavishly appointed and finished within. In that big house on the edge of town, and which has ever been styled "Roberts Villa," they spent their last days and there Samuel Ew- ing, who inherited it, spent his last days in lonely splendor, maintaining his position to the end.
John Ewing, who was for years a merchant at Xenia, was born in Camp- bell county, Kentucky, January 6, 1800, a son of John and Margaret Ewing, who were reared and married in York county, Pennsylvania, and who in 1795 moved to Kentucky, moving thence in 1801 to Ohio, and until he was fourteen years of age John Ewing thereafter made his home in Hamilton and Clermont counties, this state. He then, in 1814, came up into this part of the state and became employed in the store of James Gowdy, one of the first merchants in Xenia. He continued that connection until he grew to manhood, when Gowdy admitted him to a partnership and upon Gowdy's retirement from buisness in 1838 he became proprietor of the store con- tinuing thus in business at Xenia until his own retirement in 1861. Originally the Ewing, or Gowdy, store was located at the corner of Main and Greene
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streets, but in 1849 Mr. Ewing erected a three-story structure at the corner of Main and Whiteman streets and thereafter carried on his business in the latter building. He also built what is now known as the Grand Hotel, but which in his day was known as the Merrick Hotel. He died at his home in Xenia in 1893. His wife had long preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred in 1858, and he did not remarry. They were married on December 12, 1833, and were the parents of six children, those besides the subject of this memorial sketch being Miss Elizabeth Ewing, of Xenia ; Miss Ida Ewing, of New York City; Mrs. Cummins B. Jones, of Los Angeles, California; William Ewing, of Two Buttes, Colorado, and James Ewing, of Los Angeles. The father of these children was reared in the Covenanter church and his wife was a Methodist.
EDWIN H. HUNT.
Edwin H. Hunt, dealer in automobile accessories at Xenia, was born in that city on November 18, 1886, son and only child of E. C. and Luella (Karch) Hunt, the former of whom died on January 9, 1915, and the latter of whom is still living in Xenia. She also was born in Xenia, daughter of Isaac and Cornelia (Dunham) Karch, the latter of whom was born at Bell- brook, this county. Isaac Karch was but a boy when he came to this county with his parents and he grew up on a farm in Beavercreek township, later becoming employed as a clerk in the Millen store at Xenia. He died at his home in Xenia in 1912, he then being eighty-six years of age. The Hunts were a well-known family in Xenia in their day and are more particularly remembered by reason of the activity in local musical circles of Converse Hunt, uncle of Edwin H. Hunt, who was a singer of more than local note and who for years conducted a "conservatory of music" in Xenia.
When thirteen years of age Edwin Hunt became employed in George Galloway's drug store, where he worked for two years, at the end of which time he became a cutter in the local shoe factory. He then took employment during the summer as a baggageman on a steamer plying the waters of the Great Lakes and for two summers was thus employed. At eighteen years of age he began working in the Vanderpool bicycle establishment at Xenia and at the end of two years of that form of employment found himself pos- sessed of a capital of fifty dollars. With this capital he opened a shop of his own for the repair of bicycles and guns, starting in the Glossinger build- ing, and as the automobile business gradually developed added to his stock a line of accessories. In 1905 Mr. Hunt found it necessary to seek other quarters and he opened his present store at 39 West Main street, where he ever since has been engaged in business. In 1914 Mr. Hunt opened a
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garage and operated the same under the name of the Xenia Garage Com- pany, but a year later sold that establishment and has since confined himself to his old familiar line. He was the first man in Xenia to do general auto- mobile tire repair work, as well as the first man in that city to do acetyline welding.
In June, 1906, Edwin H. Hunt was united in marriage to Evelyn Ora Ferguson, who also was born in this county, daughter of "Doc" Ferguson and wife, the former of whom, now deceased, was for years an auctioneer in this county and the latter of whom is now living in Dayton, and to this union have been born five children, namely : Louise, born in 1907; Harold, 1909; Evelyn, 1910; Robert, January, 1916, and Annis, January, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are members of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church. They own and reside on the old Clevenger place of eighteen acres on the Cincinnati pike just at the edge of town, where Mr. Hunt finds recreation in looking after a truck patch during the summers.
GEORGE W. WARNER.
George W. Warner, a retired farmer of Greene county, now living at Fairfield, where he has made his residence since 1886, was born on a farm three miles south of Fairfield on February 27, 1843, son of Henry and Har- riet (Cosad) Warner, the latter of whom was also born in this county, her parents having been pioneers in Bath township.
Henry Warner was born in the vicinity of the city of Hagerstown, Mary- land, in 1803, son of George W. Warner and wife, who came to Ohio in 1826 with their family and settled in Bath township, this county. Henry Warner married here and continued to live on his father's farm after his marriage until 1845, when he moved to a farm on the Yellow Springs road, where he resided for two years, at the end of which time he moved to the village of Fairfield, but two years later returned to the old home farm. There his wife died in 1852. He survived her for many years, his death occurring in 1895. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, those besides the subject of this sketch being as follow: Mrs. Christina Koogler, of this county; John, who died in the days of his boyhood; Paul P., a resi- dent of the Fairfield neighborhood; Aaron, deceased; Henry G., a resident of this county : Mrs. Sophia Dellinger, of Osborn; Mary Alice, deceased, who was the wife of Taylor Gerlaugh; Mrs. Elizabeth Nicholas, of Versailles, this state, and Mrs. Ann Walsh, who lives two and one-half miles southwest of Fairfield. Henry Warner, the father of these children, had bought the old home place after the death of his father and there developed a fine piece of property. His parents, George W. and Christina (Harshman) Warner, came
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to Ohio in 1826 and the Warners are thus one of the old families in Greene county.
George W. Warner, who was given his name in honor of his father's father, was reared on the home farm in Bath township and received his schooling in the neighborhood schools. After his marriage in 1866 he con- tinued to make his home on the home place and there resided for ten years. He then moved to a farm a mile and a half west and there lived for nineteen years, or until his retirement from the farm in 1886 and removal to Fair- field, where he has since made his home. Mr. Warner is a Democrat and, fraternally, is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He owned two hundred acres of land that the Conservancy Board bought, and he then went across into Clark and Montgomery counties and bought 136 acres which he used for small grain production and potatoes.
On February 6, 1866, George W. Warner was united in marriage to Elizabeth Kreider, who was born on a farm on the banks of Mad river, in the extreme northwestern part of this county, a daughter of Henry and Susan (Kirkwood) Kreider. Mr. Kreider, a blacksmith, came from Penn- sylvania to Ohio in an early day and located in Montgomery county, later coming to Greene county and moving from here to Springfield, where he died. His wife died while living in Greene county. They had three chil- dren, Elizabeth, who married Mr. Warner; Susan, deceased, and Mary, who married Frank Miller. The family belonged to the Reformed church.
C. HOWARD LITTLE.
C. Howard Little, former president of the Xenia city council and vice- president and treasurer and general office manager of the Xenia Grain Com- pany, wholesale grain dealers, with offices in the Allen building at Xenia and an elevator at Bowersville, was born at the village of Jamestown, this county, February 25, 1870, son of Asa and Margaret (Moorman) Little, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and who are still living, making their home at Xenia.
Asa Little was born on a farm in Ross township in June, 1843, son of Robert and Elizabeth ( Hiett) Little, who were born in Hampshire county, Virginia, where they grew up and were married. In the year in which they were married Robert Little and his wife came to Ohio and settled on a farm in the woods in Ross township, this county, where they established their home and reared their family, becoming substantial pioneers of that community. They were among the leaders in the local congregation of the Campbellite, or Christian, church in their neighborhood and Robert Little ac- quired more than a merely local reputation as a preacher of that faith, filling
.
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the pulpit of the local church in the absence of a regular pastor. He was reared a Whig and later became a Republican and for several years served his community as township trustee. He became the owner of a farm of about four hundred acres. He died in 1878, at the age of sixty-five years, and his widow survived him for ten years, her death occurring in 1888, she then being eighty-two years of age. They were the parents of six children, name- ly : J. H., now deceased, who lived at Yellow Springs; the late Hon. John Little, for years prominent in public life here; Lucy, who married Joseph Ritenour, a farmer of Ross township and is now deceased; Mrs. Emily Birch, wife of a merchant at Yellow Springs; Asa, father of the subject of this sketch, and Anna, who married Henry Flagg, of Xenia, and who, as well as her husband, is now deceased.
Reared on the home farm in Ross township, Asa Little completed his schooling at Antioch College and for fifteen years thereafter was engaged in teaching school, most of this time being spent in the schools of the neighbor- ing county of Madison, although for some time he was superintendent of the schools at Yellow Springs. He also served for a time as superintendent of the schools at South Solon and at Sedalia. He then became engaged in the grain business at Yellow Springs and for four years was the owner of an elevator there and for a few years also had a lease on the Oldtown mill. In 1890 he was elected treasurer of Greene county, nominee of the Republican party, and in 1892 was re-elected to that office, thus serving as treasurer of the county for two terms, or four years, during which time he made his home in Xenia. Upon leaving the county treasurer's office he bought a farm of two hundred acres in Beavercreek township and there made his home until his retirement in 1913 and removal to Xenia, where he and his wife are now living, at 816 North King street. They are members of the Christian church at Xenia. Mrs. Little was born, Margaret Moorman, in Sil- vercreek township, this county, daughter of Charles and Matilda (Watson) Moorman, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Penn- sylvania. Charles Moorman was but nine years of age when he came with his parents to this county from Virginia, the family settling in Silvercreek town- ship. To Asa and Margaret (Moorman) Little were born two sons, the sub- ject of this sketch having had a younger brother, Arthur Ward, born in 1877, who died in 1880.
C. Howard Little's early schooling was obtained in the various schools taught by his father and he completed the same by attendance at Antioch College and at Nelson's Business College at Springfield. When his father engaged in the grain business at Yellow Springs he became an active assist- ant in the management of that business and was thus engaged until 1897,
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when he was made office manager for the Miami Grain Company at Xenia and so continued in the grain business in the latter city until 1910, when the Xenia Grain Company was organized and he was elected vice-president and treasurer of the same and also made office manager, the other officers being G. N. Perrill, president, and A. V. Perrill, secretary. This company maintains an elevator at Bowersville and offices in the Allen building at Xenia. Mr. Little is a, Republican and was serving as president of the Xenia city council when the local government was changed to that of a commission form of government.
On December 25, 1905, C. Howard Little was united in marriage to Annie Lehow, who was born in Colorado, daughter of Charles and Mary E. Lehow, both now deceased, and to this union two children have been born, Margaret, born in 1907, and Lehow, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Little are mem- bers of the Episcopal church and Mr. Little is a member of the vestry of the same. Their home is at 810 North King street.
LESTER DUNCAN BALL.
Lester Duncan Ball, a dealer in and shipper of poultry at Xenia, is a native son of Greene county, born in the village of Spring Valley on Novem- ber 4, 1886, a son of William G. and Martha (Gartrell) Ball, both of whom also were born in this county and here spent all their lives, the former dying at Xenia on January 6, 1913, and the latter, in October, 191I.
William G. Ball was born on a farm in the neighborhood of Yellow Springs and there grew to manhood. His parents came to this county from Pennsylvania. About 1880, at Spring Valley, he married Martha Gartrell, who was born at Yellow Springs, daughter of Robert Gartrell, and after his marriage began farming on his own account and so continued until about 1895, when he became engaged in the poultry business at Spring Valley and about 1902 moved to Xenia and there opened an establishment in South Collier street, where he continued engaged in the poultry business until his death. His wife had preceded him to the grave about two years, as noted above. Willianı G. Ball and his wife were adherents of the Presbyterian church. They were the parents of four children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Halleck, living at Riclı- mond, Indiana, and a sister, Helen M., who is living at Osborn, this county. The other child, Ernest, died in infancy. Halleck Ball married Maude Armentrout and to that union five children have been born, two of whom are living.
Lester D. Ball "grew up" at Spring Valley, attending the schools of
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that village, and when eighteen or nineteen years of age became employed in the express company's office at Xenia and was thus engaged for seven years, during which time he rose to the position of local agent for the com- pany. Upon the death of his father in 1913 he left the express company's office and took over the poultry business his father had built up at Xenia and has ever since been engaged in that business, shipping to New York, Phila- delphia, Pittsburgh and other points East.
On July 14, 1910, at Xenia, Lester D. Ball was united in marriage to Gertrude Shelly, daughter of Frank and Minnie (Mitchell) Shelly, of Xenia, who were married on August 2, 1887, and who have two children, Mrs. Ball having a brother, Cary Shelly, who is now living at New Madi- son, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Ball have one child, a son, Lawrence Leroy, who was born on August 2, 1913. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Ball is an "independent" voter. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Xenia.
ANDREW H. CRESWELL.
One of the substantial and successful farmers who has been a lifelong resident of Cedarville township is Andrew H. Creswell, who was born on the farm adjoining the one where he now lives on January 2, 1856, the son of Samuel and Eliza (Huffman) Creswell, pioneers of Greene county.
Samuel Creswell was born on the same farin where his son Andrew H. was born, in the year 1820, and lived to the advanced age of ninety- three years on this same farm, his death occurring in 1912. His wife, Eliza (Huffman) Creswell, died in 1914, at the age of eighty-four years. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth, the others being as follows: Martha Ann, the widow of J. S. Turnbull, of Ross township; Sarah, the wife of Alex- ander Kyle, a farmer of Cedarville township; Mary, living at home; James H., a farmer of Cedarville township; Julia, the wife of W. R. Sterrett, of Cedarville : William H., also a farmer of this township; George H., living on the old home farm; Nettie, the widow of James Ervin, of Xenia, and Ida, who is now living in Cedarville township, widow of J. H. Stormont. Samuel Creswell inherited one hundred and fifty acres of land at the time of his father's death, and at the time of his death was the owner of two hundred acres. He and his wife were members of the Reformed Presby- terian church at Cedarville. Mr. Cresswell was a Republican during most of his long and useful life, but for twenty years before his death espoused the cause of prohibition. He always took an active interest in the civic
Mr and Ales .A. M. Grenell
MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL CRESWELL.
SAMUEL CRESWELL HOMESTEAD.
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and social affairs of his community and was for years a director of the school board of his township.
The paternal grandparents of Andrew H. Creswell were James Cres- well and wife, who emigrated from Kentucky to Ohio in a very early day, coming here in 1804 with the Rev. Robert Armstrong, and in the then new country established the Associate Reformed church, of which he and his family were devout members. They were the parents of four sons and one daughter, all now deceased. A complete sketch of the ancestry of Mr. Creswell will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Andrew H. Creswell received his early education in the district schools of Cedarville township, later attending the high school at Cedarville. He was reared to the life of a farmer, and upon leaving the paternal home purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Cedarville township, two miles southeast of the village of the same name, and has lived there ever since. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and ranks among the progressive farmers of the county. He has rendered public serv- ice as a member of the board of township trustees.
On November 26, 1896, Andrew H. Creswell was married to Rachel Kyle, the daughter of Joseph and Hanassah (Kennedy) Kyle. Mrs. Cres- well is a member of a family that has been connected with this portion of the state for nearly a century and is a sister of the Rev. Joseph Kyle, D. D., now president of Xenia Theological Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. Creswell are adherents of the Reformed Presbyterian church at Cedarville and Mr. Cres- well has served as trustee of the local congregation most of the time for forty years.
JAMES H. CANADAY.
James H. Canaday, chief of police of Xenia, is a native son of Ohio and has been a resident of Xenia since he was fifteen years of age. He was born at Gallipolis, in Gallia county, June 16, 1866, a son of Reuben S. and Elizabeth (Adler) Canaday, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter of whom was of European birth, who later became residents of Xenia, but after some years of residence in that city returned to Galli- polis, where their last days were spent.
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