History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 76

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1440

USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 76

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George K. Schauer, who is engaged in the seed business at Osborn, this county, was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Miami on August 30, 1859, son of George and Catherine (Brown) Schauer, the former of whom was born in this county in 1825 and the latter in the state of Maryland. in 1830. George Schauer, who spent most of his life as a farmer in Greene county, was a son of Samuel Schauer, who had settled here in 1313, and he was reared on a farm in the vicinity of Byron. After his marriage he, for a time lived in Miami county, but later returned to this county. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared 111 that faith. There were five of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Sarah C., wife of Simon H. Wolf, cf Springfield, this state; Lenora J., wife of Benjamin Wolf, of Osborn; Samuel William, deceased, and Flora, wife of J. C. Smith, a Day- ton dry-goods merchant.

Reared in this county, George K. Schauer received his early schooling in the schools of his home neighborhood and supplemented the same by a course in the Covington high school and for fourteen years thereafter was engaged in farming. He then became engaged in the sale of agricultural machinery at Osborn, selling direct to the farmers, agent for the "Champion" line, and there sold the first self-binders introduced into that community. Five years later he became engaged in the dry-goods business at Osborn and was thus engaged for four years, at the end of which time, in 1912, he established his present business in the seed line, making a specialty of fine seed corn. Mr. Schianter's business is largely conducted through the mail-order system.

In 1886 George K. Schauer was united in marriage to Elizabeth Kline, daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Herr) Kline, and to this union six children have been born, namely: Grace, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Sum- ner, who married Edna Glasser and lives at Osborn, where he is enga el in business with his father: Rachel. living at home. who has had both a misical

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and a commercial training; George A., who married Catherine Bagford and is also living at Osborn, where he is engaged in business with his father ; Anna, a school teacher, who is making her home with her parents, and Dewey, who is a clerk in a grocery store in Osborn. The Schauers are members of the local Lutheran church. Mr. Schauer is a Republican.

RICHARD SPARROW.

Richard Sparrow, a veteran of the Civil War, who for years has been making his home at Clifton, this county, was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Clark on May 11, 1844, a son of John and Mahala ( Kelly ) Sparrow, the former of whom was born in the state of Maryland and the latter in Ken- tucky, whose last days were spent at Clifton.

John Sparrow was reared in his native Maryland and as a young man came to Ohio and located in Clark county, where he presently married and established his home on a farm, continuing there engaged in farming until he was sixty-six years of age, when he retired and moved to Clifton, where he spent the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch and his sister, Mrs. Sarah Caroline Griffith, are the only ones now surviving.

Reared on the home farm in Clark county, Richard Sparrow received his schooling in the local schools of that neighborhood and was living there when the Civil War broke out. On February 15, 1864, he then being but nineteen years of age, he enlisted for service in behalf of the Union cause and went to the front as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, attached to the Army of the Potomac, under Gen- eral Grant, and with that command served until the close of the war. being mustered out on June 25. 1865. During that period of service Mr. Sparro. was three times wounded, once at the battle of Cold Harbor and twice at the battle of Petersburg. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to the home farm in Clark county and after his marriage a couple of months after his return from the army, began farming on his own account. In 1881 he moved to Clifton, where he ever since has made his home. Mr. Sparrow is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and by political inclination is "independent." About thirteen years ago Mr. Sparrow and his family suffered a serious loss by fire which destroyed their dwelling house, but in the rebuilding of the same they constructed better than before.

On August 24, 1865, Richard Sparrow was united in marriage to Lavina Wike, who also was born in Clark county, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Williams) Wike, natives of Pennsylvania, and to this union five children

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have been born, namely; Silas E., deceased; Elizabeth, who married Charles Hopping, of Yellow Springs, and has four children, Edwin, who married Frieda Centers and lives at Dayton, George Bert, Jeremiah Lee, who is now engaged as city meat inspector at Atlanta, Georgia, and Emma Lavina ; Ulysses Clinton, now living at Dayton, who married Katherine Pauley and has four children, Helen, Richard, Alice and Charlotte; Katherine Jane, now deceased. who married Grant Hopping and had two children, Edna, who married Lewis Lindell, and Arthur, of Yellow Springs; and Harry, who died when nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow are members of the Presbyterian church.

HENRY H. EAVEY.

The late Henry H. Eavey, president of the Citizens National Bank of Xenia, founder and head of the wholesale grocery firm which bears his name, a soldier of the Civil War, former president of the local school board and for many years a conspicuous figure in the commercial life of Xenia. who died at his home in that city in the spring of 1918 and whose widow is still living there, was a native of the state of Maryland, but had been a resident of Greene county since the days of his infancy, and has thus been a participant in the affairs of this community all his adult life. He was born on a farm in the vicinity of the city of Hagerstown, Maryland. August 6, 1840, son of John and Margaret (Knode) Eavey, who in the following spring came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Greene county, the child Henry then being under one year of age.

Reared on the home farm, Henry H. Eavey received his schooling in the local schools and remained at home until he was sixteen years of age. when he took employment in the retail grocery store of David Hinton at Xenia, his wages for that service being fixed at eight and one-third dollars a month and "board." the latter being apportioned to him at such boarding houses as owed his employer grocery bills. At the end of nine months he relinquished this employment as a bad job and returned to the farin, but a few more months of farm life convinced him that he was not cut out for a farmer and in the fall of 1859 he returned to Xenia and entered the grocery store of D. A. Dean, which was situated on the corner now occupied by the Steele building, and was thus engaged when the Civil War broke out. In July, 1862, Mr. Eavey enlisted for service and went to the front as a member of Company H. Ninety-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infan- try, with which command he served for five months or until his discharge by reason of physical disability caused by injuries he had received while a prisoner of war at Lexington, Kentucky. Upon his return to Xenia Mr. Eavey resumed his former position in the Dean store, which meantime had

Ast Garry

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been purchased by Frank E. Arnold, and remained there until in May, 1865, when he opened a store of his own in West Main street. From the beginning this venture was successful and on July 1, 1869, Mr. Eavey, in association with M. C. Allison and James Carson, inaugurated the whole- sale establishment which still bears his name, the firm opening for busi- ness with a capitalization of eighteen thousand dollars in the building now occupied by the Smith Advertising Company on East Main street. In 1880 Mr. Carson and Mr. Allison withdrew from the firm, the former going to Springfield and the latter becoming engaged in the cordage business at Xenia, and Mr. Eavey took into partnership with him J. D. Steele and W. B. Harrison, the new company, under the firm name of Eavey & Company, erecting the brick building on West Main street, which was the home of the company until destroyed by fire in February, 1908. Both Mr. Steele and Mr. Harrison withdrew from the firm within seven or eight years after the association was effected and invested their capital in the cordage business, S. F. Evans, of Jamestown, buying an interest in the grocery business fol- lowing their withdrawal. This latter partnership, however. did not last longer than a year or two and then Mr. Eavey took his sons, William E. and H. Earl Eavey, into business with him, a mutually agreeable ar- rangement that continued until the death of the elder Eavey, whose sons had gradually assumed the responsibility of the business as their father retired from the more active duties of the business which he had built up and to which he had devoted his life for nearly half a century. In addition to his business interests at Xenia Mr. Eavey had helped in the establishment of other wholesale grocery houses and at various times was thus interested in concerns at Springfield, Findlay and Dayton, this state, and at Ft. Wayne and Huntington, Indiana. Mr. Eavey also was one of the incorporators of the Citizens National Bank of Xenia, served for ten years as vice-president of that concern and on January 15, 1897, was elected president of the bank, a position he held until his death. In 1880 he was elected a member of the board of education, was for thirteen years treasurer of the same and also served for some time as president of the board. For years he also was a member of the Woodland cemetery board. He was an elder of the local congregation of the Reformed church and was a member of Lewis Post No. 357, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Eavey died at his home in Xenia on April 18, - 1918, and was buried in Woodland cemetery.

Henry H. Eavey was twice married. His first wife, who was Cathe- rine Winters, daughter of the Rev. Thomas H. Winters, died in December, 1891, leaving four children, Mrs. Arthur H. Perfect, of Ft. Wayne, Indi- ana, and William E. Eavey, Mrs. George R. Schuster and H. Earl Eavey,

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of Xenia. In February, 1896, Mr. Eavey married Alice Galloway, who survives him and who is still making her home at Xenia, residing at 106 West Market street. Mrs. Eavey is a daughter of the late James C. Gal- loway, a member of one of the real pioneer families of Greene county and further mention of whom, together with a comprehensive narrative relat- ing to the Galloway family in this county, is presented elsewhere in this volume.

FRANK B. TURNBULL.

Frank B. Turnbull, manager of the Cedarville Telephone Company, was born on the old Turnbull homestead place in Cedarville township on June 27, 1867, a son of Alexander and Sarah J. ( Barber) Turnbull, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and whose last days were spent here.

Alexander Turnbull was born on a pioneer farm two miles northeast of Cedarville on January 24, 1838, a son of John Turnbull and wife, the latter of whom was a Kyle, and the former of whom was a native of Scotland wlio came to this country as a young man and settled in Greene county, as is set out elsewhere in this volume. John Turnbull was twice married and by liis first wife was the father of five sons, William, Samuel, Joseph. Thomas and Alexander. By his second marriage he was the father of the following children : Hugh, who is living north of Cedarville: David, now deceased, who was an undertaker at Cedarville, later moving to Monmouth, Illinois, where he engaged in the same business and where he also served for a time as sheriff; Charles, who is still living north of Cedarville; Minnie, who died unmarried; Anna and Martha, also deceased, and Ritta, who married W. L. Clemens and is living east of Cedarville. Alexander Turnbull grew up on the old home farm and continued farming all his life. During the progress of tlie Civil War he served for four years as a soldier of the Union, a men- ber of Company D, Twelfth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was twice married. On December 16, 1863, he was united in marriage to Sarah J. Barber and to that union were born five children, namely : Effie, born on December 20. 1864, who died on January 21, 1884; Rachel, March 31, 1867. who married J. C. McMillen and is now living at Columbus, this state; Anna, February 1, 1877, now deceased, who was the wife of John Ervine, of Xenia ; Frank B., the immediate subject of this sketch, and William A., postmaster of Cedarville, a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume. The mother of these children died on May 30, 1896, and Mr. Turnbull later married Mrs. Sarah Barber, widow of Al Barber, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Alexander Turnbull

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died on April 7, 1916. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church and his children were reared in that faith.

Frank B. Turnbull was reared on the home farm, receiving his school- ing in the neighborhood schools, and remained at home until his marriage in the spring of 1897. He later became a resident of South Charleston, in the neighboring county of Clark, where he was engaged in the livery business and in the buying and selling of horses until his removal in 1900 to Cedar- ville, where he since has made his home. Mr. Turnbull is the owner of a farm, to the general direction of which he gives his personal attention, but his time is chiefly devoted to the affairs of the Cedarville Telephone Com- pany, of which he is the general manager.

On April 28, 1897, Frank B. Turnbull was united in marriage to Lydia Bradfute, who was born at Cedarville, a daughter of David and Martha Bradfute, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to · this union has been born one child, a son, Robert Alexander, born on Decem- ber 25, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull are members of the United Presby- terian church. Mr. Turnbull is a Democrat.

GEORGE F. KEMP.

George F. Kemp, of Beavercreek township, proprietor of a farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres in the New Germany neighborhood, was born on that farm on July 21, 1868, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lafong) Kemp, the latter of whom was born in that same township in 1834, a member of one of the pioneer families thereabout and further reference to which family is made elsewhere in this volume. Jacob Kemp was born in Mad River town- ship, in the neighboring county of Montgomery, July 30, 1825, and during the days of his young manhood was engaged in teaching school. He then became engaged in the grocery and dry-goods business in Dayton and there remained until in April, 1868, when he came over into Greene county and settled on the farm on which his son George is now living and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on January 13, 1899. His widow survived him until 1913. They were the parents of five children, of whom George was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Angeline Margaret, unmarried, who is living in Montgomery county; Cassandra, who died at the age of four years; Lafayette, who also died when four years of age, and Wilmer S., who married Anna Smith and is living in Montgomery county.

Reared on the home farm, George S. Kemp received his schooling in the local schools in the neighborhood of his home and for a while after attaining his majority was engaged variously in carpentering, railroading and painting, but presently resumed farming on the home place and has ever

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since been thus engaged. having established his home there after his mar- riage in the fall of 1891. In addition to his general farming Mr. Kemp has given considerable attention to the raising of Poland China hogs and Holstein cattle.

On November 26, 1891, George F. Kemp was united in marriage to Lina M. Hering, who also was born in Beavercreek township, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Lantz) Hering, further reference to which family is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union five children have been born, namely: Ferdinand, who died in infancy; Mary, wife of Asa Newton, of Beavercreek township; Elnora Catherine, George B. and Almeda.

DAVID ARCHER.

David Archer, member of the board of trustees of Beavercreek town- ship, proprietor of a farm in that township and proprietor of an extensive stone quarry there, residing on rural mail route No. 8 out of Dayton, was born in Beavercreek township on January 1, 1847, a son of John and Mary J. (Boroff) Archer, the latter of whom was born in that same township. John Archer was born at Centerville in the neighboring county of Montgom- ery on August 8, 1823, and as a young man came over into Greene county, where he spent the rest of his life, farming and operating as a stone con- tractor and builder. On March 18, 1845, he married Mary J. Boroff, and to that union ten children were born, two of whom died in infancy and one in childhood, the others besides the subject of this sketch being William. deceased; Charles, now living at Troy, this state; Oliver F., a Beavercreek township farmer; Daniel, deceased; Mrs. Lida R. Helmer, of Beavercreek township, with whom her brother David makes his home, and John E .. now a resident of Belmont, this state. John Archer died on November 21, 1884, and his widow survived him until February 24, 1903. She was born on April 24. 1823.

Reared on the home farm in Beavercreek township, David Archer re- ceived his schooling in the neighborhood schools and continued farming until he was twenty-three years of age, when, in the spring of 1870, he took up the operation of the stone quarry on his father's place and has ever since been operating the same, for years making a specialty of preparing stone slabs for the construction of grave vaults, a continuous resident of the place on which he is now living since 1869. Mr. Archer is a Republican and for the past nine or ten years has been serving as a member of the board of township trustees. He is affiliated with the Odd Fellows and with the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Archer's sister, Lida, with whom he makes his

MR. AND MRS. JOHN ARCHER.

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home, has been twice married, and by her first marriage is the mother of two children, a daughter, Miss Osee A. Burke, a teacher in the Beavercreek schools, and a son, John A. Burke, of Dayton, who operates a garage. She married, secondly, Edward Helmer, son of Squire Helmer, of Beavercreek township, and by that union is the mother of one child, a son, Wando Harold.

MILLARD D. FLACK.

Millard D. Flack, colored farmer and dairyman, formerly and for twenty- five years a school teacher and now the proprietor of a place of eighty acres in the Wilberforce neighborhood, is a North Carolinian by birth, but has been a resident of Ohio and of Kentucky since he was ten years of age. He was born of slave parents, Robert and Elizabeth (Tucker) Flack, in the vicinity of Morgantown, in Rutherford county, North Carolina, June 9, 1859, and remained there until after the Civil War, when, in 1869, his parents came to Ohio and located in Clermont county, where Robert Flack was able to buy a small tract of land and engage in farming on his own account. Robert Flack died in Clermont county in 1873, at the age of forty years, leaving two chil- dren, both of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Susan, widow of Samuel Jones, who is now making her home with him at his place near Wilberforce. The widow Flack married Robert Scott, who presently moved up into Warren county and thence after a few years to Spring- field, where he was living when, in 1885, while engaged in working in the timber he was murdered by white men, his body being chopped to pieces; a crime for which one of the men implicated was sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary. Robert Scott was a soldier of the Union during the Civil War, having served with-one of the Ohio .infantry- regiments .- His" widow died in Cincinnati in December, 1916, she then being eighty-five years of age. She was a member of the Baptist church and her children were reared in that faith.

Having been but ten years of age when his parents came to Ohio from North Carolina, Millard D. Flack received his early schooling in the schools of Clermont county. He then took a course in Berea College in Kentucky and began to teach school, spending his winters in the school room and his summers at farm work. He presently became the owner of a tract of thirty acres in Madison county, Kentucky, where he was married, and his wife was the owner. of a tract of seventy-five acres. For twenty-five years he was engaged in teaching in Kentucky, beginning in the rural schools and in time being advanced to the town schools and became in turn principal of the colored

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schools at Richmond, at Nicholasville and at Stanford, all in Kentucky, the holder of a life certificate, or teacher's license. This long service as a teacher in Kentucky was interrupted for a period of two years beginning in 1900, when he returned to Ohio and was for two years engaged in the butcher business at Wilberforce, but at the end of that time he returned to his home in Kentucky and resumed farming and teaching in Madison county, remain- ing there until the spring of 1916, when he returned to this county with his family, he and his wife having disposed of their land interests in Kentucky, and bought a tract of eighty acres on the Columbus pike in Xenia township and in January, 1917, moved onto the same.

On December 23, 1891, Millard D. Flack was united in marriage to Eliza Jane Turner, a daughter of Cyrus and Esther (Haines) Turner, of Kentucky, an interesting story of whom is carried in a biographical sketch relating to John J. Turner, brother of Mrs. Flack, presented elsewhere in this volume, and to this union six children have been born, namely: Mrs. Viola Gilmore, who is teaching school in Somerset, Kentucky; John Turner Flack. now a soldier of the National Army, a sergeant, stationed in the spring of 1918 at Camp Grant, Illinois, preparatory to service abroad: Elizabeth, who is at home; Estella, who died at the age of five years, and Lida and Helen. The Flacks are members of the Baptist church and for twenty years during his residence in Kentucky Mr. Flack served as a deacon of his local congrega- tion. He is a member of the colored order of Masons. Mrs. Flack's mother died on March 21, 1918, at the age of eighty-six years.

CHARLES EDWIN CONFARR.

Charles Edwin Confarr, a veteran blacksmith at Clifton and former mayor of that city, was born at Clifton on June 19, 1850, son of John and Eve Catherine (Stimmel) Confarr, Virginians, the former of whom was born on March 20, 1811, and the latter, April 1, 1811, who became residents of Clifton about 1843 and there spent their last days.

John Confarr was born in Frederick county, Virginia, and there grew to manhood. He was early apprenticed to a blacksmith and completed his apprenticeship when he was nineteen years of age, afterward beccoming en- gaged in business as a blacksmith on his own account in his home county. He was married in 1831 and continued to make his home in Frederick county until about 1843, when he came to Ohio with his family, four chil- dren having by that time been born to him and his wife, and located at Clif- ton, where he set up a blacksmith shop and was occupied at his trade there until his retirement from the business in 1872. He continued to make his

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residence at Clifton after his retirement and there died on March 30, 1895. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eighth in order of birth, the others being Eliza Ann, William Newton, Mary Catherine, John Wesley, Mrs. Sarah Louise Wheeler, of Dayton, Isaac Thorne, Henry Cyrus, who died in childhood, and Mrs. Susanna Cornelia Boase, of Clifton.

Reared at Clifton, Charles E. Confarr received his schooling there and when sixteen years of age took up the work of blacksmithing, an assistant in his father's shop. Upon completing his trade he went to Portsmouth, Ohio, and there worked in a paper-mill for eight months, at the end of which time he went to California and after nine months spent there at mining re- turned to Portsmouth and resumed his work in the paper-mill. He was married in Indiana in 1883 and presently returned to Clifton, where he estab- lished his home and where he ever since has resided. In 1885 he built the blacksmith shop he now occupies and has since been engaged in business there. Mr. Confarr has been a member of the local school board for the past twenty years and served for some time as mayor of Clifton and also for some time as town clerk. He is a Democrat. He has been a members of the Masonic order since 1874, affiliated with the lodge of that order at Yellow Springs; has been a member of the Clifton lodge of the Knights of Pythias since 1895 and is also one of the old members of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Junior Order of United American Mechan- ics. For the past fourteen years or more Mr. Confarr has been the treasurer of the Clifton Presbyterian church.

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History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 76

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1440

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1440