History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 51

Author: R. E. Lowry
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 985

USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 51

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Potterf, they rented land for two years and then purchased a small farm. Their present farm was purchased in September, 1883. Mr. Potterf is a breeder of a high grade of hogs, cattle and horses. The buildings on his farm, which are maintained in a splendid state of repair, have all been erected by Mr. Potterf.

Mr. and Mrs. Potterf are active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Eaton, Ohio. Mr. Potterf is a Republican but he has never been especially active in political affairs, preferring to devote his ener- gies to private rather than to public enterprises. John H. Potterf deserves to rank as a representative citizen of Preble county.

OSCAR W. SILVER.

Oscar W. Silver is widely known in Preble county, Ohio, and is one of the honored citizens of Dixon township, where he is living a life more or less retired after a strenuous period of activity in farming. Mr. Silver's well- directed effort in the practical affairs of life, the capable management of his business interests, and his sound judgment have brought to him pros- perity. His life demonstrates what may be accomplished by a man of energy and ambition, who is not afraid to work, and who has the perseverance to continue his labors in the face of any disaster or discouragement that may arise. In all the relations of life Mr. Silver has commanded the confidence and respect of those with whom he has been brought in contact. A biograph-

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ical history of this locality would not be complete without the story of his career.

Oscar W. Silver, who owns the northwest quarter of section 25, town- ship 7, north, range I, east, of Dixon township, Preble county, Ohio, was born on the southeast quarter of section 26, in the same township, called the old Silver farm, on July 24, 1844, a son of W. B. and Ann (Johnson) Sil- ver. W. B. Silver was born in Burlington county, New Jersey, while his wife was born in Dover county, Delaware, and came to Ohio when young, locating at Waynesville, Ohio, in which latter place Mr. Silver and Miss Johnson were married. Immediately after their marriage they came to Preble county, Ohio, and located in section 26, of Dixon township. Both of them died in Kansas City, Kansas. W. B. Silver was an extensive landowner and at one time owned eight hundred acres of land. He was a Republican, and a devout member of the Quaker church. To Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Silver five sons and two daughters were born, six of whom are now living. Hora- tio Silver is a farmer living in Wayne county, Indiana. Margaret is the widow of Clarkson Jennings, and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Oscar W. is the subject of this sketch. Joseph lives in Kansas City, Kansas. Robert Silver lives in Knightstown, Indiana. Rebecca is the wife of Winfield Free- man, and lives in Kansas City, Kansas.

Oscar W. Silver was reared on the farm in section 26, of Dixon town- ship, this county, and received his education in the district schools of his home township. He remained at home until he was past twenty-four years of age.

Mr. Silver was married in 1873 to Helena Button, who was born in Gas- per township, receiving her education in the common schools. She is a daughter of George Button. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Silver set- tled on the quarter section where they now live. They are the parents of two children : Dr. H. Z., of Eaton, Ohio, and William B., who is unmarried and lives at home, where he is a farmer.

Mr. Silver is a Republican, although he has never been especially active in political affairs and has never held office, preferring to devote himself and his energies to his wife and family. He has a modern home with every pos- sible convenience, built in 1912 at a cost of four thousand dollars. Previously, in 1907, Mr. Silver had erected on his place, at a cost of three thousand dol- lars, a bank barn, fifty by seventy feet, and has made many other valuable improvements on the farm, including one hundred rods of ditching for the better drainage of the place. He engages in general farming and devotes considerable attention to the raising of high-grade stock.

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The Silver family are highly respected members of society in Preble county and well known in Dixon township, where they have lived for so many years.

JOHN E. MILLER.

The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate. of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the records the verdict of popular opinion regarding his worth as a private citizen and as a neighbor. John E. Miller has led a life characterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well-defined purpose-elements of a true, useful and honorable life.

John E. Miller, proprietor of a farm consisting of eighty acres, one and one-half miles southeast of Eaton, on the Franklin road, was born in Lanier township, Preble county, Ohio, August 7, 1871, and is a son of Charles and Hannah M. (Stanza) Miller.

Charles Miller was born near Stubert, in Wurtemburg, Germany, April I, 1838, a son of Jacob and Mary (Lutz) Miller, who lived and died in Ger- many. Charles Miller came to the United States in 1854, when sixteen years of age, and located at Eaton, Ohio, where he found employment at farm work. Mr. Miller was a poor young man at this time, but he later owned a large farm. Charles Miller was married to Hannah M. Stanza, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and to this union were born six children : Mary C., the wife of Joseph C. Stover, a farmer of Gasper town- ship; William E., living in Kansas City, Missouri; Hattie A., the wife of C. M. Rader, of Walla Walla, Washington; Charles F., who married Lulu Williams, and lives in Campbellstown, in this county ; John E., the immediate subject of this review, and Elizabeth B., the wife of Clarence McWhinney, who lives in Jackson township in this county.

John E. Miller was reared on a farm in Lanier township, where he lived until fourteen years of age, at which time he moved to the farm which he now owns. He received his education in the district schools of Lanier and Gasper townships, and in the winter of 1890-91, he attended a commercial school at Dayton, Ohio. After leaving school he returned to the farm and has since engaged in farming.

On September 6, 1893, John E. Miller was married to Maggie G. Gilliam, who was born in Charleston, West Virginia, and was educated in the common schools of that state. She is a daughter of J. E. and Sarah E.

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(Berkley) Gilliam. The Berkleys were prominent families in their native state. To John E. and Maggie G. (Gilliam) Miller were born four children: Grace B., born January 10, 1897, was graduated from the Eaton high school; Kenneth F., born June 10, 1899, is a student in the Eaton high school, in his sophomore year; Gladys I., born September 26, 1900, is a student in the high school at Eaton; Blanche M., born April 18, 1905, is a student in the fourth grade of the Eaton public schools.

Mr. Miller is a member of Waverly Lodge No. 143, Knights of Pythias, and is an ardent adherent of the Democratic party. He is a prosperous farmer and progressive in all his methods of agriculture. In 1908 he erected a new, modern house of eight rooms, equipped with all the latest conveniences for an attractive country home. He is a good judge of stock and keeps only the very highest grades. Mr. Miller has long been a leader, not only in his vocation, but in civic and political movements in the community in which he lives.

PORTER P. WEBB.

Farming as a vocation is a hard master. It requires the closest kind of application, much hard physical labor and long hours of service. It is said that the farmer's work is never done, but it is also true that man's work is never done, no matter what his vocation. The hopeful phase of farming is that men like Porter P. Webb, of Eaton, can perform the hard work con- nected with farming and at the same time retain their keen and active spirit of optimism. Mr. and Mrs. Webb are honorably numbered among the old- est people now living in Preble county.

Porter P. Webb was born in Preble county, Ohio, near Camden, March 3, 1828, the son of Jacob and Nancy ( Mattox ) Webb, natives of New York and Virginia, respectively. Jacob and Nancy Webb were the parents of five children, John H., Abraham V., Jeannette, who was the wife of Moore Ad- ams, of Oxford, Ohio; Lucinda, who was the wife of Charles Guild, and Porter P., all of whom, save the latter, are now deceased.

Jacob Webb was reared in New York City, where he was a shoemaker. He came to Preble county, Ohio, in 1820, and settled on a small tract of land one-half mile from Camden. He afterwards lived in Camden, where he conducted a hotel. He died in Camden, in 1854, at the age of sixty-five. Part of his life he lived in New Jersey. His wife died in 1884 at the ad- vanced age of eighty-four. He was a soldier for a short time in the War

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of 1812, in which he was a captain. He carried a sword in that war which an elder brother, Abraham, had carried in the Revolutionary War. This sword is now owned and cherished by Porter P. Webb.

The paternal grandparents of Mr. Webb were natives of England and lived for awhile in New York City after coming to this country. They later moved to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and both he and his wife lived to advanced ages in Perth Am- boy, New Jersey. Their children were Abigail, Elizabeth and Jacob. The maternal grandparents of Porter P. Webb were natives of Virginia, where they died. Their family history is lost.

Porter P. Webb was born and reared in Preble county, and has lived here his entire life of eighty-six years. He lived in Camden until about eight years of age and received his schooling there. There is not a person now living in Camden who lived in that place when Mr. Webb was a child. He began huckstering when a young man and was accustomed to visit over a hundred farms on his regular rounds. There are none of the old residents now living on these farms who were living at that time.

Mr. Webb purchased some land while engaged in the huckstering busi- ness, later engaged in farming, mostly in Gasper township, where he still owns two hundred and forty acres. He lived on this farm until 1899, when he turned over the management of his farm to his sons and moved to Eaton, where he purchased a nice home, and there he is spending his declining years in the ease and comfort to which his long years of ceaseless toil and activity have entitled him.

On November 18, 1864, Mr. Webb was married to Mary Catherine Mc- Manus, the daughter of John O. and Catherine (Miley) McManus, and to this union three children were born, Edward E., Olive J., and Charles C. Edward operates the home place in Gasper township. He married Jennie Huffman, and they have four children, Grace M., Roy R., Eva E., and Stan- ley Arthur. Olive J. became the wife of James E. Jennings, and has one daughter, Ella Marie. Charles C., the youngest child of Mr. Webb, is un- married and lives at home with his parents and assists with the work of the home farm.

Mrs. Webb was born in Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, No- vember 7. 1832. Her father was born in New York state, and her mother in Butler county, Ohio, and they were pioneers in Preble county. Her father died in 1852 at the age of sixty, and her mother died in 1885, at the ad- vanced age of ninety-two years. She had acquired her second eyesight and could thread a needle and read without the aid of glasses. John C. McMa-

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nus and wife were the parents of eleven children, Abraham I., Sarah Ann, Mary E., John G., Margaret J., Elizabeth, Samuel M., Mary C., Lavina E., Julia A., and Charles H.

Mr. and Mrs. Webb are among the oldest settlers now living in Preble county, he having lived in the county more than eighty-six years, while his wife has been a resident of the county for more than eighty-two years. Both are intelligent and well preserved, and Mr. Webb heartily enjoys a good story or joke and has a fund of ready wit. He and his wife have a large circle of friends and both are highly esteemed by all who know them. They are industrious and frugal, and by their good management have accumulated a substantial competency. Mr. Webb was a thrifty farmer and owns one of the best farms in the county. He and his wife belong to the old school of politeness and hospitality, and their friends are legion.

Mr. Webb is a Democrat, although he has generally voted independently . of his party affiliations, and has never aspired to public office.

RICHARD EDWIN MORROW.

After one has been born in a community, and has spent most, if not all, of his life in that community, after he has participated in public affairs and the public has had a fair chance to measure his worth, it is a splendid tribute to be honored by the ever-observant public. Richard E. Morrow, a farmer and stock breeder, of Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, the proprietor of "Spring Farm," and a former member of the Ohio General Assembly, has risen to a position of large influence in Preble county. He is wide awake, alert and well informed on all public questions, a man possessed of much native ability and equipped to be a leader of men.

Richard E. Morrow was born on the farm where he now lives, consist- ing of ninety acres, situated on the Dayton & Western Ohio electric traction line, December 6, 1847, the son of Richard and Sarah (Barr) Morrow.

Richard Morrow was born in Waynesville, Warren county, Ohio, Jan- uary 29, 1807, the son of Andrew and Rebecca (Laughlin) Morrow. An- drew Morrow was born in Orange county, North Carolina, in 1767, and was the son of William and Sarah ( Reed) Morrow. William Morrow came to America from Edinburgh, Scotland, about the year 1750, together with his brothers, George and Hugh. After a short residence in Pennsylvania, they moved to North Carolina, one brother a little later settling in South Carolina.

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HON. RICHARD E. MORROW.

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After coming to America, William Morrow married Sarah E. Reed, a na- tive of Dublin, Ireland. He was killed in the Revolutionary War. Andrew Morrow, with his wife and family, emigrated to Ohio and located in Jack- son township, Preble county, March 25, 1807. He entered a section of land in the woods, and was widely known and a prominent citizen of the commu- nity during his life. Andrew Morrow was a devout Quaker, and was op- posed to slavery and left the south for Ohio for this reason. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, all of whom grew to maturity, John, Wil- liam, Andrew, Richard, Hannah, Rebecca, Rachel and Nancy.

Richard Morrow grew up on a farm in Jackson township, this county, and attended the schools of his day in a log school house. He was extremely active in neighborhood affairs and at one time owned two hundred and sixty acres. In early life he was a member of the Whig party, later a "Free- soiler," and finally a Republican. He also was a Quaker. On February 2, 1832, he married Sarah Barr, who was the daughter of Alexander and Mary (McElheney) Barr. Alexander Barr was a native of Ireland, of Scotch- Irish stock, and a devoted Presbyterian, as also was his wife. He came to America about the year 1800, and a little later married Mary McElheney, a native of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. After a short residence in Dau- phin county, they moved to Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and about the year 1815 came to Ohio. Sarah Barr was born in Indiana county, Pennsyl- vania, November 27, 1810, and came to Ohio from Pennsylvania with her parents when a child of five years. Richard Morrow and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom grew to maturity, Sarah J., who is unmarried and lives at Richmond, Indiana; D. R., who married Helen Boyle; James M., who is married and lives in Jackson township; Richard Ed- win, the subject of this sketch; H. C., who married Frances Catterson, upon whose death he married Belle (Potter) Harris, of Austin, Texas, in which city he is a practicing physician. Sarah J. was graduated from a medical college in Chicago and is a practicing physician in Indiana. D. B. Morrow is a practicing physician at Dallas, Texas.

Richard E. Morrow was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. He was graduated from the scientific and classical courses of the National Normal University with the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, in 1871 and 1872. Mr. Morrow was graduated in the same class with President H. B. Brown, of the Northern Indiana Normal Uni- versity at Valparaiso. Mr. Morrow taught school for six years and served as superintendent of schools at Clinton, Illinois. Later he read law, and still later he began farming.

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On August 25, 1880, Richard E. Morrow was united in marriage with Martha Joan Adams, daughter of Thomas B. Adams, and a graduate of the Brookville (Indiana) College. She was reared in Brookville, Indiana, until eighteen years of age and was graduated from Brookville College, after which she moved to Shelbyville, Indiana, where she was married. Five children have been born to this union, D. A., Edwina, Richard B., Mary and Ruth. D. A. was graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and is employed in the department of commerce at Washington, D. C. Edwina was graduated from the Jack- son township high school, and after teaching a few years, took a position with the American Book Company. Richard B. took the agricultural course at Ohio State University and is a farmer with his father. Mary was grad- uated from Earlham College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and is the principal of English in the schools at Bedford, Indiana. Ruth was grad- uated from the Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati, Ohio, and has charge of music in the schools at Lonoke, Arkansas.

Mr. Morrow is a past master of the Whitewater Valley Grange, and is a Republican, having served one term in the lower House of the Ohio Legis- lature, in 1898-99. Mr. Morrow was a member of the Preble county Repub- lican central committee for sixteen years and has always been active in the affairs of this party in Preble county. Much of the time he has been a mem- ber of the county executive committee. Mr. Morrow also was chairman of the school board in Jackson township four years and served nine years as a justice of the peace. At present Mr. Morrow is independent in his polit- ical views. Mr. Morrow was foreman of the jury which tried the celebrated National Cash Register case.

PROF. EDWIN H. YOUNG.

Few men realize the sacrifices which educators make in behalf of the communities which they serve. Few realize the preparation necessary for educational work, the long, hard struggle for scholastic training and the outlay in time and money necessary to obtain this training. Yet the educa- tional profession is one of the most poorly paid of all and the accumulation of a competence is extremely difficult so long as one follows this profession. The teacher's work is, however, a work of love, in this respect comparing with that of the ministry. Educational leaders not only merit the profound

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respect of the community, but are to be admired for the sacrifices they en- dure because of their love for their work and their interest in the communities they serve. One of these unselfish and capable educational leaders of Preble county is Prof. Edwin H. Young, a teacher in the public schools at New Paris,

Prof. Edwin H. Young was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, August 31, 1876, the son of Cyrus N. and Mary (McMahon) Young. Cyrus N. Young was born in Preble county, Ohio, a son of James H. and Mary (Brown) Young. James H. Young was born in 1806 in Rocking- ham county, Virginia, and came to Preble county, Ohio, about 1825, settling in Jefferson township. He and his wife were married in Virginia. After their arrival in Preble county they bought eighty acres of land in section twenty-two, and this land is still held by the Young family. James H. Young was a loyal and faithful member of the Presbyterian church.

James H. Young and wife were the parents of four children, Margaret, who was unmarried and died in 1896; Caroline, who died in 1909; Mary, who died at the age of eighteen, and Cyrus N., the father of Prof. Edwin H.

Cyrus N. Young was born in Preble county, May 3, 1838, and grew to manhood in Jefferson township. He attended the public schools of the town- ship and received a splendid education. He served one hundred days in the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. On November 17, 1874, Mr. Young married Mary McMa- hon, who was the daughter of Thomas and Mary McMahon, of Irish descent. Five children were born to this union, four of whom are living, Edwin H., the subject of this sketch; Ada R., born October 6, 1878, who is the wife of Oliver Spencer, of Bethel, Indiana; Leonard, who is a graduate of the New Paris high school and is a farmer on the old home place in Jefferson township; and Mary, who is the wife of Amos Black, of Richmond, Indiana.

Prof. Edwin H. Young was reared on a farm in Jefferson township and was educated in the district schools. He was graduated from the New Paris high school and attended the medical department of the University of Cincinnati. Professor Young also has taken normal courses at Earlham College and Miami University. He taught two years before attending nor- mal school and has taught six years since that time. He is serving his fifth year as teacher in the public schools at New Paris.

Professor Young was married, November 18, 1902, to Alice M. Os- born, the daughter of David H. and Martha (Newell) Osborn, who was born in Dayton, Ohio. Her father was a soldier in the Civil War and died in 1897, his wife dying in 1903. During a part of their lives they were resi-

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dents of Paris, Illinois. To Prof. Edwin H. and Alice M. (Osborn) Young has been born one son, Donald Q., born December 24, 1906.

Professor Young and wife are devoted members of the Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder. Professor Young is a member of Fellow- ship Lodge No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons; Eaton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons; Matchett Council No. 91, Royal and Select Masters, of Greenville, Ohio, and Richmond Commandery No. 8, Knights Templar. He is secretary of the local Masonic lodge and also a past master. He also holds membership in Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias, and is a past chancellor of that lodge. He is a Republican and is now a member of the town council. For several years he has been a member of the Jefferson township public library board, of which he is secretary. Few people are better known in Jefferson township than Professor and Mrs. Young and they enjoy the esteem of all the people of the township.

ROBERT STEELE.

Fealty to facts in the analysis of the character of a citizen of the type of Robert Steele, one of the best known and most popular farmers of Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, is all that is required to make a good bio- graphical sketch interesting to those who have at heart the good name of the community, because it is the honorable reputation of the man of stand- ing, more than any other consideration, that gives character and stability to the body politic and makes the true worth of a county or state revered and respected. In the broad light which things of good report ever invite, the name and character of the gentleman whose name introduces this biograph- ical sketch stand revealed and secure. Though possessed of modest de- meanor, with no ambition to distinguish himself in public position or as a leader of men, Mr. Steele's career has been signally honorable, and it may be studied with profit by the youth entering upon life's work, for it shows that the man who persists along right lines of endeavor eventually will ac- complish what he sets out to do.

Robert Steele was born in Israel township, Preble county, March 23, 1852, a son of Samuel and Martha (Hays) Steele, the former of whom was born in North Carolina in 1814, the son of Joseph and Jeannette (Taylor) Steele, and the latter of whom was a native of Preble county, born in 1815. In the year 1818, when Samuel Steele was four years of age, his parents

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came from North Carolina to Preble county, Ohio, and here Samuel grew to manhood. In the fall of 1830 Joseph Steele moved from Preble county, Ohio, to Clinton county, Indiana, his son, Samuel, accompanying him. For seven years Samuel remained with his father in his Indiana home, after which he returned to Preble county, and rented a farm in Israel township. In 1840 he married Martha Hays, and seven years after his marriage bought the farm which he had so long rented, and there he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in the year 1897. His wife had preceded him to the grave many years, her death having occurred in 1879. To Samuel and Martha (Hays) Steele were born ten children, whose names are set out in the biographical sketch of Joseph C. Steel, brother of Robert Steele, presented elsewhere in this volume, where it will be noted that the brothers spell the family name differently, Joseph omitting the final e.

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History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 51

Author: R. E. Lowry Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 985

Author: R. E. Lowry
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 985