USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 83
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who married Hannah Conklin and has one child, a son, Willard. Mr. Taylor has two great-grandchildren, his grandson, Oakey Spahr, having one child, a daughter, Helen, and his granddaughter, Mrs. Goldie Smith, a daughter, Wanda Nell.
DAVID McCONNELL.
David McConnell, a veteran of the Civil War, former mayor of Osborn and former postmaster of that village, former general manager of the whip factory there and for some years past engaged in the real-estate and insur- ance business at that place, where he has made his home for more than twenty years, is a native son of Greene county and has lived here practically all his life. He was born on a farm in Sugarcreek township on April 15, 1842, son of James M. and Nancy (Marshall) McConnell, the former of whom was born in the Old Dominion and the latter in this county, whose last days were spent on that farm, the old Marshall place, which has been in the possession of the family for more than one hundred years, both the McConnells and the Marshalls having been among the early settlers hert
James M. McConnell was born in the neighborhood of the old salt licks in Kanawha county, Virginia, February 14, 1817, a son of David and Nancy (Munn) McConnell, both of whom were born in that same county, the former in 1787 and the latter, May 30, 1789, who were married in that county on January 5, 1815. Grandmother McConnell was a strict Presby- terian and family tradition has it that so rigid was her observance of the Sabbath day that she would cook no food on that day, all preparations in that line being made on the day preceding. David McConnell was killed by a fall from the "natural bridge" in Virginia while still a comparatively young man, his widow being thus left with three young children. She later moved with these children to Cincinnati and it was in that city that hier son, James M. McConnell, spent his youth and received his schooling, remain- ing there until he came up here as a young man and became a resident of Greene county, locating in the McClellan neighborhood in Sugarcreek town- ship, where he met and presently married Nancy Marshall, eldest daughter of John Marshall, one of the earliest settlers in this county.
John Marshall was a Kentuckian, born in the neighborhood of Lexing- ton, in 1784, and was nineteen years of age when he accompanied his father up into Ohio in 1803 and at the land office at Dayton secured a patent to a tract of six hundred acres of land in the then wilderness along the banks of the Little Miami river in the eastern part of what later came to be organ- ized as Sugarcreek township in this county, where he established his home, his marriage taking place not long afterward, and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring there in 1866, he then being eighty-
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two years of age, and he was buried on his farm overlooking the river. During the War of 1812 he served in the company of Capt. Ammi Maltbie and among the campaigns in which he took part was that about Watertown, New York. His first house on his farm along the river was a log cabin, but he later erected there a brick house which is still standing. With the help of his two sons he cleared most of his timber land and early divided the land among his six children. Of these children Mrs. Nancy McConnell, mother of the subject of this sketch, was the third daughter, the others having been Sarah, who married John Brock: Hester, who married Captain Kyler, of Dayton; Betsy, who married William Morgan, who was the owner of six hundred acres just below the Marshall place along the river ; James, who remained on the farm, and Jesse, who also remained on the farm which came to him from his father. John Marshall was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his children were reared in that faith. He was twice married, his second wife having been a Munn, a kinswoman of David McCon- nell's widow.
After the marriage of James M. McConnell and Nancy Marshall the two established their home on that portion of the Marshall farm that had been apportioned to the latter by her father, a tract of about one hundred acres, which is now owned by John McConnell, of Xenia, a brother of the subject of this sketch. To that tract James M. McConnell later added by the purchase of a tract of one hundred and forty acres adjoining. He was one of the first men in Greene county successfully to engage in tobacco cul- ture and for years his tobacco shed, a structure one hundred by forty-four feet in dimensions, would be filled every fall. James M. Marshall was the only Democrat in his home school district. Late in life he became an adherent of the Quaker faith and died in that faith. His wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She died on March 8, 1872, and he survived her for more than seventeen years, his death occurring on August 12, 1889. They were the parents of three children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first born, the others being Sarah Frances, who married Thomas Ginn and died at Jamestown, this county, in 1916, and John, a retired farmer of this county, now living at Xenia, and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume.
David McConnell was reared on the old home place in Sugarcreek town- ship, the place on which his grandfather Marshall had shot many a deer during pioneer days, and in the district school of that neighborhood received his early schooling. He was nineteen years of age when the Civil War broke out and in November, 1861, he enlisted for service in behalf of the Union cause and went to the front as a member of Company E, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Moody, and with that
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command served for thirteen months, or until a severe attack of measles in camp left him in so badly reduced a condition physically that, on a physi- cian's certificate of disability, he received his honorable discharge. Upon his return from the army Mr. McConnell took a course in a business college at Dayton and not long afterward became associated with the work tlien being done by the L. H. Evarts Company in the publication of county his- tories and for seven years was thus engaged, his work in that connection taking him all over the Eastern states. It was during the 'zos that Mr. McConnell was engaged in the history business, rendering in that capacity a service which he has ever regarded as having been of incalculable value to the many counties thus served, and he has retained many pleasant recol- lections of that period of his activities. In 1883 Mr. McConnell and his brother John became engaged in the farm-implement and seed business at Xenia, doing business under the firm name of McConnell Brothers, but after two years Mr. McConnell withdrew from the firm and became a traveling salesman for the Hooven & Allison Company, cordage manufacturers at Xenia, his territory covering Ohio and Indiana, and he was thus engaged for about three years, at the end of which time he transferred his services to the McCormick Machine Company and was for about three years engaged as traveling salesman for that concern. In 1891, Mr. McConnell assisted in the organization of the Tippecanoe Whip Company at Tippecanoe, this state, and became one of the chief stockholders in the same. For three years he represented that company as a traveling salesman and then, in 1894, sold his interest in the concern and cast about over the state for a likely place in which to set up another whip factory. The village of Osborn, in this county, offered inducements to have the plant located there and Mr. McConnell there organized a company and erected a plant for the manufacture of whips and was elected general manager of the concern, which in the first year of its operations paid the stockholders a sixteen per cent. dividend on their stock. In 1896, Mr. McConnell was appointed postmaster of Osborn and resigned his position as manager of the whip company. For eight years and six months Mr. McConnell was retained in office as post- master of Osborn and upon the completion of that term of public service took up in his home village, for he had by that time come to regard Osborn as his permanent home, the general real-estate, bonds and life-insurance business, in which he ever since has been engaged. As an instance of Mr. McConnell's success as a real-estate salesman, it may properly be related that during a "drive" made by a big Texas land company some years ago he received the prize offered the salesman for the one closing the largest acreage of sales in that project. Mr. McConnell some years ago was unsolicitedly made mayor of Osborn, the appointment coming unsought
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from the village council. He is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
On June 9, 1879, David McConnell was united in marriage to Kate Dawson, who was born at Jamestown, this county, daughter of Dr. James P. Dawson, who during the greater part of his active career as a prac- ticing physician in this county was engaged in practice at Bellbrook and to this union two sons have been born, James Marshall and Fred B., both of whom are living. James M. McConnell is engaged in the raising of pure-bred chickens on his farm ten miles from Richmond, Virginia. He married Edna Hoke and has four children, Reba, Virginia, Mary Ellen and Theodore. Fred B. McConnell was graduated from the Osborn high school and later from the law school of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and is now practicing law at Dayton. He married Cora Whaley. Mr. McConnell has a pleasant home at Osborn and looks with misgiving upon the project that may require the abandonment of his home village as a flood-prevention measure. His wife died on May 7. 1916. She is survived by one brother, Samuel Dawson, of Franklin, this state.
FLORANCE R. SMITH.
Florance Smith, proprietor of a Ross township farm of two hundred acres on rural mail route No. 4 out of Jamestown, was born in that township on September 16, 1851, son of James W. and Dorcas (Spahr) Smith, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families.
James W. Smith was born on a farm in the Jasper neighborhood in 1821, his parents having been early settlers there, coming to this county from Virginia. He grew up there and after his marriage established his home on a farın in Ross township, the place now owned by his son Florance, and there died in 1861. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor, the others · having been Philip, Jacob and Mrs. Arabella Brickel.
Florance Smith was but ten years of age when his father died. He was reared on the home farm, received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and in due time began farming on his own account, a vocation he ever since has followed. After his marriage in the fall of 1887 he established his home on the place on which he is now living in Ross township and has continued to make that his place of residence. In addition to his home place of two hundred acres he owns a farm of one hundred acres over in the neigh- boring county of Fayette.
Mr. Smith has been twice married. On November 26, 1887, he was united in marriage to Margaret Ferguson, who died on October 9, 1889.
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To that union was born one child, a daughter, Margaret E., who died in infancy. On February 26, 1891, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Elizabeth Burr, of this county, and to this union two children have been born, one who died in infancy and Herbert, who was born on December 20, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Jamestown and Mr. Smith is a Republican.
ALBERT McHENRY MILLER.
Albert McHenry Miller, veteran of the Civil War and retired farmer and carpenter, a former justice of the peace in and for his home town- ship, who for many years has made his home in the village of Jamestown, is a native son of Greene county, born on a farm in New Jasper township on August 1, 1841, son of George and Caroline (Wilson) Miller, the former of whom was a native of the old Keystone state and the latter of the Blue Grass state, born in the vicinity of Mammoth Cave, who were married in this county and here spent their last days.
George Miller was twice married and was the father of eighteen chil- dren. He came from Pennsylvania to Ohio during the days of his young manhood and settled in Greene county, following here his trade as a brick- mason until presently he bought a farm of one hundred acres on the James- town and Xenia pike in New Jasper township, paying for the same five dollars an acre, and there established his home. His first wife was a Broma- gem, a member of one of the pioneer families of the Cedarville neighborhood, who bore him six children, three of whom grew to maturity and one of whom, Simon Benton Milller, is still living, now a resident of Celina, Auglaize county, and is past ninety years of age; the others having been Dr. Milton Miller and Rebecca, the latter of whom married one of the Cedarville Towns- leys. Following the death of the mother of these children George Miller married Caroline Wilson, a member of one of the pioneer families that had come up here from Kentucky, and to that union were born twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, of whom the following grew to maturity : Perry W., who spent his last days in Illinois; Harney Anslie, now deceased, who was a veteran of the Civil War, his service having been rendered in the Seventy-fourth Ohio, commanded by Col. Granville Moody; George C., deceased; John Thomas, also a soldier of the Union, who went out as a member of the First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by one of the "Fighting" McCooks, and died in service ; Albert McHenry, the imme- diate subject of this biographical sketch; James D., who also enlisted his services in behalf of the Union during the Civil War, went to the front with the First Ohio and was killed during the battle at Missionary Ridge; William
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Edwin, a retired farmer of this county, now living at Jamestown ; Mrs. Mattie M. Townsley, now living in Iowa; Mrs. Miranda Caroline Hite and Mrs. Amanda Evaline Gordon, twins, the former of whom is now living at Belle- fontaine and the latter in the vicinity of Jamestown, and Mrs. Sarah Eliza- beth Harrison, who died in 1914. Major-Gen. John Harney, of Civil War fame, was an uncle of these children.
Albert McHenry Miller grew to manhood on the home farm in New Jasper township, receiving his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and was living on the farm when the Civil War broke out. On August 15, 1862, he enlisted his services in behalf of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Gen. J. Warren Keifer, of Springfield, commanding. After some service with the Army of the Potomac in Virginia, Mr. Miller was assigned to detached service as a headquarters guard and in that capacity continued his service until mustered out after the close of the war, his final discharge be- ing received in May, 1865. During this service Mr. Miller participated in some most interesting experiences, his headquarters activities bringing him in close touch with some of the great leaders of the war, and he was on duty at Washington at the time of the assassination of President Lincoln. He stood guard at General Grant's headquarters in the Wilderness and on two occa- sions was guard over Belle Boyd, the famous Confederate spy, who was captured and brought into General Milroy's camp, he at that time being guard at Milroy's headquarters. He also served in like capacity under Gen. Lew Wallace, under General French, of the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac; undei Gen. H. G. Wright and under Gen. J. B. Rickets, the latter of whom it was his duty to awaken at the opening of the battle of Cedar Creek. He followed General Rickets out onto the pike, where the general was seriously wounded and he carried his officer back to the hospital. Mr. Miller was present when gallant "Phil" Sheridan rode up on his famous black charger during the battle of Cedar Creek and heard Sheridan say after General Wright had ordered a withdrawal: "Place the Eighth Corps on the left; the Nineteenth on the right, and the old slow Sixth in the center and I'll whip hell out of them before sundown." During the battle of the Wilderness Mr. Miller was within ten feet of Gen. John Sedgwick, of the Sixth Corps, when the latter was slain. Mr. Miller was not of voting age at the time of the first Lincoln campaign, but he voted for Lincoln in 1864, his first Presidential vote, and at the same time voted for Brough for governor of Ohio, the latter receiving a majority in excess of one hundred thousand. Mr. Miller's experience as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and his thoughtful consideration of the history of that period, together with his comprehensive knowledge of the general history of the country, have given him exceptional opportunities for service as a member
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of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and he long has held the post of patriotic instructor in that organization, of which he also is past commander and for many years one of the most active members.
Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Miller returned home and resumed his labors on the farm, but his health presently began to fail and he sold his farming interests and began working as a carpenter, a trade in which he had been trained before going to war. After his marriage in the fall of 1872 he established his home in the village of Jamestown, where he continued to follow his vocation as a builder until his retirement. Mr. Miller is a Republican and for years served as justice of the peace at James- town, but in 1917 resigned that office. By religious persuasion he is a member of the Missionary Baptist church.
On September 5. 1872, Albert McHenry Miller was united in marriage to Laura M. Shrack, of this county, who died at her home in Jamestown on February 5, 1902. To that union were born three children, two sons and one daughter, the latter of whom, Jessie S., wife of the Rev. L. B. Albert, of Muskegon, Michigan, has a life certificate as a teacher and is principal of one of the schools at Muskegon. Her husband also is a teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Albert have one child, a son, Paul McHenry, born in .1906. James Albert Miller, Mr. Miller's youngest son, born on July 1, 1874, died on April 1, 1917, and twenty days later his brother, Anslie Miller, met his death in a railway accident at Jamestown. Anslie Miller, born on May 13, 1873, married Elizabeth Alice Saunders, of Jamestown, and was the father of one son. James Albert. His widow and son are still making their home at Jamestown.
DAVIS BARNHART.
Davis Barnhart, a retired farmer of Greene county who for the past twenty-five years has made his home in Jamestown, was born on a farm in Silvercreek township, this county, December 19, 1854, a son of John and Jane (Sheeley) Barnhart, the latter of whom was born in that same town- ship, in 1826.
John Barnhart was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and was eighteen years of age when he came to Ohio, locating in Wayne county, where he remained until 1840, in which year he came to Greene county and made a permanent settlement here. In 1842 he married Jane Sheeley and in 1846 he established his home on a farm just south of James- town, in Silvercreek township, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring there on March 2, 1888. To him and his wife were born six children, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Matilda, born in 1846, who married Jacob Shigley, of this county, and is now living
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at Elwood, Indiana; Theodorick, born in 1848, who died in 1878; Davis, the immediate subject of this sketch; Morgan, born in 1857, who is now living in Madison county, Indiana; and Arabella, born in 1861, who died on February 10, 1902.
Davis Barnhart was reared on the home farm south of Jamestown and received his schooling in the schools of that vicinity. After his mar- riage in the summer of 1878 he established his home on the home place, which he eventually came to own, and there he continued to reside until his retirement in 1893 and removal to Jamestown, where he has since made his home. In 1906-08 Mr. Barnhart served as a member of the com- mon council of the city of Jamestown from his ward. He is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at Jamestown.
On June 4, 1878, Davis Barnhart was united in marriage to Mattic L. Chalmers, who was born in Jamestown, daughter of John and Jane (Harper) Chalmers, the former of whom was born in Scotland in 1802 and was but fourteen years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1816, and to this union was born one child, a daughter. Edith Belle, born on August 5, 1880, who died on January 6, 1892.
EUGENE S. KEITER.
Eugene S. Keiter, proprietor of a farm on rural mail route No. 8 out of Dayton, his place being located in the Zimmerman neighborhood in Beaver- creek township, was born in the neighboring county of Clinton, but has been a resident of this county since he was about ten years of age, his parents having moved here in 1875. He was born on April 20, 1864, 5011 of Benjamin and Mary (Hendrickson) Keiter, both of whom were born in Virginia, the former in 1820, and who were the parents of eight children, of whom Eugene S. was the third in order of birth, the others being Frederick Virginia, wife of Alvin Martz, of Cleveland, this state: Mrs. Emma Beil- stein, deceased; Druzella, wife of Frank Roberts, of Cleveland; William, who married Mary Wolf and lives in Dayton ; Ella, wife of James Eyman, of Midway: Effie, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Herbert, who married Cora Carpenter and lives at Chillicothe.
Reared in this county, Eugene S. Keiter received his schooling here and early became engaged in farming, later taking up butchering. In the fall of 1916 he bought the farm on which he is now living and has ever since made his home there. On September 23, 1893, Mr. Keiter married Mand D. Stephens, of Wilmington, this state .. Mr. and Mrs. Keiter are members of the Reformed church at Alpha. Mr. Keiter is a Republican and is a member of the Alpha lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
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CHARLES L. JOBE.
Charles L. Jobe, proprietor of the department store at Xenia long oper- ated under the firm name of the Jobe Brothers Company, which it still retains, is a native son of Greene county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farin on the Jamestown pike, in Xenia township, three miles east of the city of Xenia, a son of John H. and Nancy (Collins) Jobe, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and who spent all their lives here.
John H. Jobe was born at Xenia on October 31, 1826, son of George and Mary Anne (Hutchinson) Jobe, the former of whom was born in Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania, and who came to this part of Ohio in the days of his young manhood and located in Greene county. George Jobe served as a soldier during the War of 1812, serving under General Harrison, and participated in the battle of Ft. Meigs. He later married Mary Anne Hutch- inson, a member of the pioneer Hutchinson family of the Bellbrook neigh- borhood, in Sugarcreek township, and after his marriage located in Xenia, where he followed the vocation of wagon-making. Later he became a land- owner, having bought a farm in Xenia township, but did not personally farm the same, continuing his labors as a wagon-maker until failing health com- pelled his retirement, when he moved to his farm, where he spent his last days, his death occurring there in the spring of 1867. His widow survived him for nearly twenty years, her death occurring May 24, 1884. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom John H. Jobe was the second in order of birth.
John H. Jobe was about eight years of age when his parents moved from Xenia to the farm and he thus had the benefit of rural training. When he was nineteen years of age he learned the carpenter trade and for five years followed the same, afterward resuming farming and presently bought a farm of his own on the Jamestown pike, three miles east of Xenia, where he spent the rest of his life, adding to his holdings there until he became the owner of three hundred and forty-eight acres. John H. Jobe was a Republican, served for years as trustee of Xenia township and was for a time director of the Greene county infirmary. He and his wife were members of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Jobe's wife, Nancy Collins, was born in Xenia township on February 23, 1837, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (McClel- lan) Collins, the former of whom was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1804, and was but a boy when he came to this county with his parents, William Collins and wife, the family settling on Massies creek, whence a few years later they moved to a farm six miles north of Xenia. William Collins, the pioneer, and his wife were the parents of ten children, all of whom, with one exception, reared families of their own, hence the Collins
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