USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio > Part 71
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her work, the influence of mind upon mind, business returned to Bellbrook, where he engaged in cabinet-making for ten years. Later he established a general store, which and of soul upon soul being an incalculable force, the worth of which is only recognized in eternity, but in this land and in Great . he conducted almost up to the time of his Britain thousands have reason to be grate- ful to her and to speak of her in words of loving praise.
SILAS O. HALE.
Among those who in public office have advanced the general welfare through faith- ful performance of duty is numbered Silas Opdyke Hale, who is clerk of the court of pleas in Greene county. He was born in Bellbrook, Sugarcreek township, this coun- ty, March 9. 1858. his parents being Silas and Miriam ( Opdyke ) Hale, who were also natives of Greene county. The father was born near Bellbrook, August 26, 1803, and was a son of John and Sarah ( Bowen ) Hale, natives of Maryland, whence they removed to Kentucky and in 1802 re- moved to Ohio, locating in what is not Sugarcreek township. Greene county, where the grandfather successfully carried on busi- ness, being engaged in both farming and tanning. He was one of the honored pio- neers of this portion of the state and took an active part in the early development and progress of Greene county. In 1838, how- ever, he removed to Kosciusko county, In- diana, where he died in 1845. By two mar- riages he had twelve children.
Silas Hale, the father of our subject, obtained a common-school education, and when old enough began work in his father's tanyard, where he was employed until seventeen years of age. He was then ap- prenticed to the cabinet-maker's trade in Wilmington, Ohio, and after mastering that
(leath, being one of the enterprising, wide- awake and reliable merchants of the town. For more than forty years he was township treasurer and was appointed postmaster of Bellbrook by Franklin Pierce, in which of- fice he served continuously until Grover Cleveland's first administration, a period of over thirty years. No public official of the county has ever enjoyed to a higher degree the confidence and good-will of the public or more truly deserves the respect accorded him. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hale were born ten children, who in order of birth were as follows: Dorinda, John, Henry and Frank, twins, Angeline, Mary, Bowen, James, Mel- ancthon and Silas O. Four of the sons, John, Henry, Frank and Bowen., were in the Civil war and Bowen died at Camp Chase in April. 1862. The parents were both members of the Methodist Protestant church and were people of genuine worth, true to every principle which tends to the development of an upright character. Mr. Hale died in 1889 at the age of eighty-six years, but his widow, a lovely Christian la- dy, still survives him at the age of eighty- eight years and is lying with her son, Henry H. Hale, in Xenia.
In the schools of Bellbrook Slias O. Hale acquired his early education, which was later supplemented by study in the Na- tional Normal University at Lebanon, where he pursued a scientific course. He prose- cuted his studies during the summer months while in winter he engaged in teaching En- tering upon his business career he first learned the carpenter's trade in Bellbrook under the direction of Harman Brothers,
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but followed this only a short time, when he began teaching in Sugarcreek township. Ile was very successful as a teacher, hav- ing the ability to impart clearly and concise- ly to others the knowledge he had acquired. On the organization of Sugarcreek town- ship high school Mr. Hale was selected as the first principal and was also made super- intendent of the township schools, which po- sition he held from 1892 until he entered upon the duties of the office of clerk of the common pleas court of Greene county. Ohio. in 1900. He was one of the organizers of the Ohio State Township Superintendents Association, and was its first president. Afterward he was secretary and treasurer for several terms, resigning the position when elected clerk of the courts. He served on the executive committee of the Greene County Teachers' Association for one year and presided over the Teachers' Summer Institute. He was then elected president of the Teachers' Association and as such again conducted the Teachers' Summer Institute, which was declared one of the most popular ever held in Xenia.
On the 29th of November, 1881. Mr. Hale was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Gibbons, a native of Greene county and a daughter of Thomas Gibbons, of Bell- brook. Her father was a native of Ire- land, but for many years resided in Bell- brook, where he spent his last days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hale have been born one child, Minnie Miriam, now a student in the high school of Xenia.
and growth of his party. He has held dif- ferent official positions, having been treas- urer of Sugarcreek township for ten years and also treasurer of the village of Bell- brook several terms, as well as a member of the city council of Bellbrook. In 1899 he was elected clerk of the courts on the Re- publican ticket and in 1902 is again the can- didate of his party for that office, his sec- ond nomination being a public acknowledg- ment of his capability during the first term of service. For several years he was an ac- tive member of the county central commit- tee and was on the executive committee for one year. Mr. Hale attained to a promin- ent position in educational circles and is now accounted one of the most faithful and skill- ful officers of the county. In all life's rela- tions he has been found true to the trust reposed in him and has well merited the good name which he enjoys.
GEORGE CONFER.
George Confer, a retired farmer resid- ing in Yellow Springs, is a native of Wash- ington county. Maryland. his birth having occurred near Hagerstown, on the 8th of February. 1827. but since the age of seven years he has lived in Ohio, coming at that time to this state with his parents, George and Elizabeth ( Bowman) Confer. The fa- ther was born in Maryland and followed the occupation of farming as a means of pro- viding for his family. In 1834 he came to Ohio, locating in Greene county. his farm comprising one hundred and fifty acres of
Socially Mr. Hale is connected with Spring Valley Lodge, No. 302, I. O. O. F .. and with Nenia Lodge, No. 668, B. P. O. land in Miami township, a small part of E .. and of the latter he is a trustee. In which had been improved. He erected some new buildings, making many ex- politics he has always been a stanch Re- 1.ul lican, deeply interested in the welfare cellent improvements upon the farm.
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which is still in possession of the family. There he lived and died, passing away at the age of seventy-two years. He was a member of the German Reformed church and in early life gave his political support to the Whig party and on its dissolution be- came a Republican, but the honors and emoluments of office had no attraction for him. As the years passed his diligence an 1 business ability brought to him success, so that he was enabled to give to each of his children a good home. His widow survived him twelve years and died in the city of Xenia. She was also born in Maryland and was a member of the Lutheran church. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, three of whom are still living: Hannah, who resides near Spring Valley ; William G., now deceased; George: Susan, who died at the age of twenty-seven years : and Elizabeth, who is the widow of Rich- ard Partington and has one son, Edward. Her home is near Spring Valley. Greene county.
To the district school system of Miami township George Confer is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He assisted his father upon the home place and after the death of his parent, in 1857, he and his brother began farming for them- selves and were thus engaged for two or three years. The partnership was then dis- solved and George Confer purchased more land adjoining the farm which his father had given him in Miami township. There he engaged in the tilling of the soil and stock-raising for thirty-three years and in 1891 he removed to the village of Yellow Springs, where he has since lived a retired life.
On May 2. 1861, George Confer was married in Miami township to Ann John-
son, whose birth occurred on the 15th of April. 1841, in Greene county. She is a daughter of James and Catherine ( Ehrler ) Johnson. The father was a native of Ken- tucky and at an early date came to Ohio. The mother was born in France, but when a young girl was brought to the United States, settling with her father in Clark county, Ohio, and with him she remained until her marriage. Afterward Mr. and Mrs. Johnson settled upon a farm in Miami township. Greene county, where the mother died in 1849. Mr. Johnson afterward mar- ried again and his death occurred in 1890, both passing away in Miami township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Confer were born six children and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death.
Mary Etta is the wife of Joseph Ver- nanda Shoemaker, who resided at Goes Sta- tion, in Nenia township, where he is con- ducting a grocery store. They have one child. Cora May, who is the wife of George Hall, of Dayton, by whom she has a daugh- ter. Dorothy. George Albert, the second member of the Confer family, resides upon his father's farm on the Dayton pike, in Miami township, where he is engaged in the cultivation of the fields and in the raising, purchasing and sale of stock. He married Miss Anna Fogle and they have five chil- dren : Vernanda, Earle, Raymond, Verna and Georgia. Arthur U. resides upon the home farm in Miami township. He mar- ried Miss Clara Miller and they have three children, Florence, Chester and Harry. William W., who is also living upon the home farm, wedded Miss Zella Fogle and they have two children, Edith and Esther. Howard T., a blacksmith at Goes Station, married Nora Ginneman and their children were Harold, Mildred and two that died in
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infancy. Susie, the youngest member of the Confer family, is the wife of John Con- rad, a grocer of Springfield, Ohio, and they have one son, Herman.
In his political views Mr. Confer is a Republican and for one term he served as supervisor of his township, while for eight or nine years he was a director of the public schools. He belongs to the Reformed church and take a deep and active interest in everything tending to promote the gen- eral welfare, along all lines of substantial progress and improvement.
NOAH SIPE.
Noah Sipe is the oldest resident of Bath township, having lived here for more than eighty years. He has witnessed great changes as time has passed and man has wrought for the upbuilding and improve- ment of this portion of the state. The for- ests which stood in their primeval strength during his boyhood days have been cut down to be replaced by fields of waving grain, while here and there homes have been builded and are now occupied by a prosperous and contented people. Towns and villages have also had their era of pros- perity and improvement and to-day Greene county in its splendid development is the work of many enterprising pioneers among whom is numbered Noah Sipe, who resides on a farm on the Fairfield and Yellow Springs pike in the eastern part of Bath township, where his birth occurred in a lit- tle log cabin, December 28, 1820.
His parents were Christian and Cath- erine (Carpenter) Sipe. The father was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, and was a son of Henry Sipe, a native of Ger-
many, who, on crossing the Atlantic to the new world. settled in the Old Dominion, where he spent his remaining days. In the county of his nativity the father of our sub- ject was reared and educated and served as a private in the war of 1812. For two years thereafter he remained in Virginia, and about 1814 came to Ohio, settling first in Clark county, where his brother Francis had earlier made his home. When two years had passed he went to Cincinnati to see a man who had entered a half section of land. This he purchased, paying about nine hundred dollars out of the sum of one thousand dollars which he had accumulated while in the east. This land was all heav- ily wooded, but soon the sturdy strokes of his ax removed trees upon the place and the land was cultivated. In the latter part of his life he purchased a fine farm near Yel- low Springs where he lived retired upon the place where both the father and mother of our subject died. The latter was born in Virginia and came to Greene county in 1812. She was a daughter of John Carpen- ter, who was also a native of the Old Do- minion, and on coming to Greene county with his family settled about one mile west of the present home of our subject. Chris- tian Sipe died in 1855, at the age of sixty- five years, while his wife passed away in 1860, when about sixty-five years of age, both being interred in Yellow Springs cem- etery. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in his po- litical views the father was a Jacksonian Democrat. Of this marriage were born seven children : Amy, the wife of Eli Routzong, who is now deceased; Noah, our subject, being the second in order of birth; John, who died in early youth ; Manuel. who is also deceased; Sarah, the wife of Lewis
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Cosler ; Elizabeth, deceased; and Mary Y., our subject, married Mary Jane Wilson and who has also passed away. As the years passed the father cultivated a very good home for his family. He became the owner of four hundred and eighty-eight acres of valuable land. He was a tanner by trade and in early life followed that pursuit. but during the greater part of his business ca- reer devoted his energies to farming.
Noah Sipe pursued his education in the township schools but his advantages in that direction were somewhat limited. The building was a log structure and the school was conducted after the subscription plan, the tuition being one dollar and fifty cents for three months. The spelling book and the arithmetic were about all the books re- quired and the methods of teaching were very primitive as compared with those of the present day. At the age of eleven years Mr. Sipe began to follow the plow and throughout his active business life he de- voted his energies to agricultural pursuits. His practical experience in youth enabled him to successfully carry on farm work after he had attained to man's estate.
In the year 1848 Noah Sipe was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Wiant, a native of Champaign county, Ohio. In 1856 Mr. Sipe erected a brick house upon the old home farm, where he now resides. There was but one other house anywhere in the locality at the time the old home had been erected. The first structure was a log cabin. which was succeeded by a fine log house built when Mr. Sipe was a young lad, and is still standing, one of the mute reminders of pioneer days and an indication of the pres- ent progress and improvement of the county.
By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sipe have been born seven children: John, who now resides upon the old home farm with
unto them four children were born-Edgar W., Emmet Clifford, Ida May, and John, Jr. Artemis, who is the wife of William Strasburg, is residing in Springfield, Ohio, and they have three children-Ota and Reta, twins, and Maude. Jasper is the next younger. Walter, who lives on the old home farm with his father, which is also the place of his birth, married Johanna Hern, and unto them six children have been born- William, Walter, Mary, Frank, Charles and Catherine. He assists his father in the oper- ation of the home farm. Ida, who married George Finfrock, resides in Boise City. Ida- lio. Joseph Douglas is now deceased. He married May Woodall and they made their home in Yellow Springs township. Their
children were-Noah, Charles, Myrtle and Lizzie. Mertie, the seventh member of the family, married Ephraim Harshman and re- sides in Clark county. Their children are- Ilarry, Gladys, and Elmer, deceased.
In 1881 Mr. Sipe was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who in that year passed away and was laid to rest in the Yel- low Springs cemetery. At the age of thir- teen years she had become a member of the Baptist church and was ever a consistent Christian woman. For his second wife Mr. Sipe chose Sarah C. Scudder, who was born in Trenton, New Jersey. His landed pos- sessions now comprise three hundred and seventy and one-half acres and he also owns a lot in the village of Osborn.
In his political views Mr. Sipe is a Dem- ocrat, but has never accepted office save some minor positions. For thirty years he has been school director and for twelve years was clerk of the school board. His son John has for three years been township trustec, elected on the Democratic ticket.
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Mr. Sipe has devoted his energies to gen- eral farming and stock-raising. and as the years have passed has met with creditable and gratifying success so that in the even- ing of life he is provided with all the com- forts that go to make life worth the living as the result of his former toil. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and he is a steward of the church at Yellow Springs. He takes a very deep and active interest in religious affairs and his life has ever been in consist- ent harmony with his profession. He has passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey and now receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded those who have advanced thus far. His history contains many elements well worthy of emu- lation, for he has ever lived an honorable and upright life, having been true in all his relations to his fellow men.
HON. ANDREW JACKSON.
The list of the leading citizens of Greene county contains the name of the Hon. . An- drew Jackson, one of the representative and honored citizens of Cedarville. His record as a soldier, as an official and a business man has been so honorable that he has gained the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been brought in contact. His unbending integrity of character. his fearlessness in the discharge of his duties and his appreciation of the responsibilities that have rested upon him have been such as to make him a most acceptable incumbent in the office of assemblyman and in that of sergeant-at-arms in the house. He is filling the latter position at the present time and is
one of the most popular men ever called to the office.
Mr. Jackson has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished. Many repre- sentatives of the family have attained state and some national importance in business affairs, in military life and in statesmanship. His great-grandfather was a brother of An- drew Jackson, the hero of the battle of New Orleans and later the president of the United States. Robert Jackson, the father of our subject, became prominent in public affairs of Greene county. He was com- mander of the militia forces of this county and in 1834 he represented this district in the state legislature. It was in the year 1805 that General Robert Jackson removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, settling on Clark's Run, near a good spring, for in those days it was a valuable addition to a farm if there was a spring upon it. His place was three miles west of Cedarville on the Jack- son pike and is now known as the Steven- son farm. He was a man of soldierly bear- ing and commanding appearance. His com- mission as general bears date 1831. He filled local offices, including that of county commissioner of Greene county, and was long a recognized leader in public thought and action. His death occurred when he was eighty years of age near Xenia. He was married, in December, 1819. to Miss Minerva J., a daughter of Philip Eddy. of Warren county and on horseback the bridal pair made their way to their new home in Greene county. An old bureau of cherry wood, which was a bridal present from her parents, is still in possession of our subject. Seven of the twelve children born of this marriage are still living.
Upon the home farm Andrew Jackson,
ANDREW JACKSON.
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of this review, spent his early boyhood days. He was born on Christmas day of 1845 and received his education in the common schools. At the age of thirteen years he went to Nenia and accepted a position in the dry-goods store of Merrick & Company and while living in Xenia he attended school. For two years he held a position as book- keeper and served in that capacity until the fall of 186t when he enlisted in the Union army, aroused by a patriotic desire to aid in the preservation of the Union. He was then a boy not yet sixteen years of age and the only son at home. Because of this his mother would not consent to his departure and get a writ restraining him from going to the front. He then went with his brother- in-law to Michigan and entering his school there took up the study of civil engineering, in which his brother-in-law was very pro- ficient. While carrying on his studies Mr. Jackson formed a company from his class, composed of boys all larger than himself, and drilled them in Hardie's tactics. From that company several commissioned officers were drawn later in the war.
Returning to his home the following spring Mr. Jackson again became connected with commercial circles of Xenia, but the fires of patriotism burned strongly within him and once more he offered his services to the government, becoming a member of Company H. Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, August 8, 1862. the regiment be- ing organized at Piqua. He took part in a number of engagements, among them being that of Tate's Ferry, in which the regiment lost over three hundred men. He was struck by a bullet in the left arm at the bat- tle of Perryville but he never left his com- pany and afterward participated in the en-
gagements at Stone River. Buzzard's Roost and those of the Atlanta campaign, inchid- ing Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mis- sion Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Marietta. Peach Tree Creek and the siege at Atlanta. While at Murfrees- boro, in 1863. Mr. Jackson was detailed as chief clerk in the office of the brigade in- spector, acting in that capacity until he was granted a furlough in 1864. He was at home but fifteen days when he endeavored to rejoin his regiment but could get no far- ther than Nashville, Tennessee. There he reported for duty and was made chief clerk in the inspector's office there. He handled and issued all the ammunition to the troops, placed the pickets at their stations and per- formed other very important duties. When the war closed he was mustered out June 5, 1865, and returned to Nenia.
Not long after this Mr. Jackson accepted the position of assistant engineer with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, with headquarters at Dayton, and among other work which he did for that road was the supervision of the building of the bridge at Lima, Ohio, of which he had full charge, and which is a piece of splendid mechanical engineering. Soon after he was made gen- eral ticket agent of the Cincinnati & Zanes- ville Railroad, with offices in Cincinnati, and for six years held that responsible posi- tion, also acting as paymaster and engineer. In the meantime he had married and his wife's people desired that they should return and make their home in Cedarville, for the lady's parents were reaching an advanced age and wished to have their daughter near them, and desired Mr. Jackson to assist her father in the care of his property interests. Accordingly they became residents of this
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town. Mr. Jackson spent three years in Mr. Dunlap's lumber camp in Michigan, where he had charge of the entire force of one hun- dred men and at the same time superintend- ed the operation of his farm in this county. The lumber firm of which Mr. Dunlap was the senior member did the largest business in that line in Cincinnati and continued in existence for more than half a century. For some time the charge of the company's busi- ness in Cincinnati devolved upon our subject and he had full supervision of its immense trade in all its departments. Mr. Jackson is now interested in the breeding of stock, an industry which has claimed his attention for many years and is secretary of the building and loan association of Cedarville, which he organized six years ago.
On the 17th of March, 1868. Mr. Jack- son was married in Cedarville to Miss Mary J. Dunlap, a daughter of James Dunlap, who came from Cincinnati to this county at an early day, settling in Cedarville town- ship. He was in the lumber business in the former city, but lived retired here. He died at Cedarville, January 25, 1890. at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife passed away shortly after the marriage of our sub- ject. Mrs. Jackson is a member of the United Presbyterian church and a most es- timable lady. Unto our subject and his wife have been born four children: Pearl, who is the wife of R. G. George, the cashier and paymaster of the Chicago Belt Railroad, by whom she has one child. Marion; Frank, who is township clerk of Cedarville town- ship and manager of the opera house in Cedarville; Clara. a teacher in the public schools of Cedarville; and Fanny, at home. All were born on the home place in Cedar- ville township.
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