History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 60

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 60

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In 1907, Edwin T. Paul was married to Mary Althaus, who was born April 17, 1880, at Bluffton, Ohio, a daughter of Peter and Christina ( Stei- ner) Althaus. Her father was a manufacturer of sashes and doors and died in 1905. Her mother is now living at Bluffton, Ohio. Both were na- tives of Wayne county, Ohio. To Edwin T. and Mary ( Althaus ) Paul five children have been born, Christine, Virginia, LeRoy. Eugene and Justin.

Mr. Paul is a Republican and is president of the board of public af- fairs, a position of considerable responsibility, and one which Mr. Paul is filling with the same efficiency that has marked his career in private business enterprises. Mr. and Mrs. Paul are active members of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally, Mr. Paul is a member of the Free and Accepted Ma- sons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Mr. Paul is one of the hustling, wide-awake business men of Lewis- burg and Harrison township, but he is more than this. He is a man who, since his arrival at Lewisburg, has been a leader in all public enterprises and who has never hesitated to contribute his time and his money to the support of worthy movements.

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IRA O. FLORY.

Among the farmers of Preble county, Ohio, who believe in following twentieth century methods is Ira O. Flory, a prominent farmer and stock man of Lanier township. , He comes from a splendid family, one that has always been foremost for right living and industrious habits, for education, for morality, and for all that contributes to the welfare of the great com- monwealth of Ohio. Such are welcome in any community, for they are the people who work their way upward to positions of power and responsibility in the communities where they live. Ira O. Flory is a man who belongs to. this class of people.

Ira O. Flory was born on March 20, 1871, at Dayton, Ohio, a son of Henry and Susan (Miller) Flory. Ira O. Flory is one of four children born to his parents, the others being Josiah, a retired farmer living in Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. Mary Schoup, of West Alexandria, Ohio, and Daniel, who died in infancy.

Henry Flory was born on September 4, 1827, in Montgomery county, Ohio. He was a successful farmer in that county for many years, and died in 1908. His parents were Abraham and Mary (Vaniman) Flory, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Henry Flory was born, March 27, 1833, near Dayton, Ohio, and her death occurred in 1881.

Ira O. Flory was reared on his father's farm, attending the district schools of his home county, where he made a creditable record and obtained a good education. Early in life he manifested a mechanical bent, but since he was the youngest of his father's family, his parents were adverse to his taking a course in mechanical engineering, which he wished to do. For this reason he turned his attention to farming, and in 1901 came to Preble county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming for himself, renting land in Lanier township from his father-in-law, remaining there for ten years. Sub- sequently Mr. Flory purchased one hundred and fifty-five acres of land in sections 33 and 34 of Lanier township. He has been especially successful in raising high-grade live stock, and has always commanded the best prices for his products. His large profits have enabled him to make substantial im- provements to the farm he now owns, and it is considerede one of the very best farms in Preble county. In fact, Ira Flory is a man who must not only be considered as a successful farmer, but as a representative citizen of Pre- ble county. While he has been successful in his life's vocation, he has not neglected matters relating to the commonwealth and has taken a worthy in- terest in all public enterprises.

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Mr. Flory was married in 1891 to Norah E. Johnson, the accomplished daughter of Alfred and Mary J. (Trout) Johnson, who was born on May 29, 1860, a native of Preble county. To this union two children have been born. The elder child, Warren, died in infancy. Albert B., the second child, lives at home. Mrs. Flory's mother makes her home with the Florys.

Ira O. Flory has always been an influential factor in the educational circles of Lanier township, and is now one of the efficient members of the county school board. He is identified with the Democratic party, and is an ardent believer of the principles of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jack- son. He and his family are earnest and faithful members of the Progres- sive Brethren church, and are active and influential supporters of this de- nomination.

MARTIN HOOVER.

There is nothing that stimulates a man to deeds of worth and a life of uprightness and rectitude more than the recollection of the strength of char- acter and the example of right living shown by one's father. In this respect Martin Hoover is fortunate beyond the majority of men in being the son of a man who did his duty well, whether in the peaceful pursuits of ordinary life or in matters involving the larger welfare of the community as a whole. In the agricultural affairs of Washington township, where Mr. Hoover lives, he occupies a position of importance among those who are conserving the ag- ricultural prosperity of the community and none occupies a higher standing among his neighbors.

Martin Hoover was born on the farm where he now lives in Washington township, Preble county, Ohio, August 7, 1844, the son of Jacob and Cath- erine (Peters) Hoover, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Jacob Hoover and Catherine Peters grew up in the Old Dominion and married there, coming to Preble county in 1835, in which year they settled on the farm where their son, Martin, now lives. At that time the land was covered with a dense woods. Jacob Hoover cleared the land, improved the farm and lived there the rest of his life. his death occurring January 23, 1857. His widow survived many years, her death not occurring until March 5, 1899. They were the parents of five children, of whom Martin is the only survivor. Abraham and John, both of whom served as Union soldiers in the Civil War, died in the service. The brothers were members of Company F, Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. David died during the war and Rebecca, who married P. M. Pence, is also now deceased.

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MR. AND MRS. MARTIN HOOVER.

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Martin Hoover was reared on the farm where he lives and was educated in the common schools. He attended school until he was nineteen years old and remained with his mother until he was twnty-one, his father having died when he was only fourteen.

On September 26, 1866, Martin Hoover was married to Matilda Ozias, who was born in Washington township, this county, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Black) Ozias, and who died February 5, 1899. To this union four children were born, John C., Thomas M., Flora A. and Jacob H. John C., born June 9, 1867, married Elizabeth Fleming on October 15, 1914, and is a farmer. Thomas M. married Mary O. Pence, of Monroe township. Flora A. is single and at home. Jacob H. married Bessie E. Duffield and is a farmer in Monroe township.

After Mr. Hoover was married he rented farms for several years and finally purchased the farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres seven miles north of Eaton, on which he since has lived and where he keeps a splendid grade of live stock.

Mr. Hoover is a Democrat, but is not particularly active in politics. He is a quiet, unassuming man and has led an honorable and upright life. In all his life he has never drunk intoxicating liquors nor used tobacco, and is strict- ly temperate in all things. He is a man much admired and respected in the community in which he lives.

FREDERICK SCHREEL.

Among the successful, self-made men of Preble county, whose efforts and influence have contributed to the advancement of this county, Frederick Schreel, a farmer and dairyman of Harrison township, occupies a promi- nent place. Although ambitious from the first, he was surrounded by none too favorable an environment. Resolutely facing the future, however, he has gradually mounted the difficulties in his way and in the course of time has risen to a prominent position in the agricultural circles of Harrison township. For many years he has stood as one of the representative citi- zens of the locality honored by his citizenship. His life and labors are worthy because they have contributed to a proper understanding of life and its problems. For many years Mr. Schreel has been a successful dairyman and finds a ready market for his entire product in the town of Lewisburg and vicinity.

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Frederick Schreel was born on September 27, 1862, in Twin township, Preble county, Ohio. He is the son of Charles and Anna (Bolman) Schreel, who were the parents of eleven children, Henry and Minnie are deceased; Caroline and Katie live in Twin township; Margaret, wife of Ed Drayer, lives in Dayton, Ohio; Mary, Lewis, Harmon, Samuel and Christopher are all at home. Frederick, of Harrison township, is the subject of this sketch.

Charles Schreel, the father of Frederick, was born in 1822, in Germany, and left there with his parents when eighteen years old. He settled in sec- tion 12 in Twin township and farmed until his death, in 1884. His wife was born in 1828, in Germany, and left there with her sister, Margaret Voge, when eleven years old. They settled in Preble county. Mrs. Schreel died in 1912.

Frederick Schreel was reared on the farm and attended the district schools of Twin township.' In 1887 he began farming for himself in Mont- gomery county, Ohio. He rented land in Montgomery county and in Preble county until 1899, in which year he came to Preble county and purchased the old Samuel Bunger farm of seventy-eight acres located in section 27, in Harrison township, at the east edge of the corporation of Lewisburg. Mr. Schreel has made extensive improvements upon this place. He remodeled his house and installed a complete equipment of modern conveniences. He has also built a barn forty by sixty-eight feet. Mr. Schreel had the first Sharples milking machine in Preble county. He has been in the dairy busi- ness for the past six years and sells his products locally in Lewisburg.

In 1888 Frederick Schreel was married to Josephine Foster, who was born, June 3, 1867, in Darke county, Ohio, the daughter of Josiah A. and Elizabeth (Riley) Foster. The Foster genealogy is kept of record as far back as the landing of the "Mayflower," in 1620, when Lemuel Foster came, either on the first or the second trip of that historic vessel, to Plymouth Colony. Tracing from Lemuel, whom we will call the first generation, fol- low, in order: Two, Ezekiel: three, Jeremiah; four, Ezekiel; five, Jeremiah; six, Isaac Preston, and seven, Josiah A., father of, eight, Joanna Foster, wife of Frederick Schreel. Josiah A. Foster's mother was Rebecca Ware, daughter of John and Mary (Albertson ) Ware, the former of whom was a son of John Ware, Sr., and the latter of whom was a daughter of Josiah and Nancy Albertson.

To Frederick and Josephine (Foster ) Schreel three children have been born, Charles, now living in Euphemia. Ohio; Irene, at home, and Mrs. Freda Lutz, who lives at Phillipsburg, Ohio.

Mr. Schreel is a Democrat and he and his wife and family are mem-

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bers of the Evangelical Lutheran church and active in the work of that church. Mr. Schreel's life has been such as to elicit much praise from those who know him best. He has been loyal and faithful to every trust imposed upon him and has been upright in his dealings with his fellowmen.

JAMES N. SHUMATE.

Hard and laborious effort was the lot of James N. Shumate during his youth and early manhood, but his fidelity to duty won him the respect and confidence of those with whom he was thrown into contact and by patient persistence and well doing he gradually rose from a humble station to his present high standing among the people of Preble county and particularly among those in the neighborhood of his home at Campbellstown, in Jack- son township.

James N. Shumate, the treasurer of Jackson township, and a resident of Campbellstown, Ohio, was born in Claborn county, Tennessee, a son of Samuel and Mahila (Hodges) Shumate, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, the former the son of Daniel Shumate, a native Pennsyl- vanian, and the latter a daughter of Squire Hodges. Both Samuel Shumate and his wife grewe up in Pennsylvania, where they married. Later they emigrated to Tennessee where they lived a short time and where they were engaged in farming. In 1862 they moved to Indiana, locating on a farm in Wayne county, near Centerville, where Samuel Shumate died in 1880, his wife dying in the fall of 1908. They were the parents of eight children, six of whom are now living, Martha, the wife of Madison Sulser, of Jasper county, Iowa; Low, the wife of John Railsback, of Newton, Iowa; Nora, the wife of Thomas Turner, of Richmond, Indiana; Alice, the wife of Taylor Neil, of New York state; Ida, the wife of Guy Bilingly, and William, who is retired and lives in Denver, Miami county, Indiana.

James N. Shumate was reared on a farm in Wayne county, Indiana, and was educated in the district schools of that county, which he attended until he was nineteen years of age. He received a good education and then took up farming, to which he devoted his attention until he was thirty- five years old, eventually owning sixty acres of land in Wayne county, Indiana. After leaving the farm, Mr. Shumate operated a merchandise bus at Greensfork, Indiana, for three years. He was then employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a laborer and in twenty months became

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foreman of a section and served in that capacity until 1913, in which year he was promoted to extra foreman. He came to this county on November 21, 1897, and in 1899 bought his present home in Campbellstown. Mr. Shumate owns one acre north of town.

In 1882 James N. Shumate was married to Sally Wilson, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, and to this union three children were born, Nellie, who is the wife of C. C. Gard, a stock buyer; Edna, the wife C. M. John, a railroad agent, and Corine, who is unmarried and at home.

Mr. Shumate is a member of Greenfork Lodge No. 184, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Democrat and is now serving his third term as treasurer of Jackson township. He is a quiet, unassuming man, but an upright and honorable citizen in every respect, and is held in the high- est regard in the community in which he lives.

ABSALOM BARTON.

It is a pleasure to present the life history of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to the individual who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environ- ment, removes one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and by the master stroke of his own vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a competency and a position of esteem and influence among his fellowmen. Such is the record of that popular citizen of Preble county. Absalom Barton, whose life story is here briefly set forth.

Absalom Barton. a farmer living on Rural Route 3, out of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Darke county, Ohio, October 5, 1858. the son of John and Rachel ( Penland) Barton. John Barton was born in Wayne county, Indiana, in 1831, the son of Andrew Barton, who was born at Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew Barton married Celia Boswell, who was born June 22, 1800, in North Carolina. and who migrated with her parents, Barnabas and Jane Boswell, to Wayne county, Indiana, in 1812, locating three miles north of Richmond with a daughter, Mrs. Thomas Stafford. Barnabas Boswell en- tered a tract of land two and one-half miles north of Middletown, Indiana, built a one-room log house in the wilderness, where the Indians still were quite numerous, and there cleared up a farm.

Barnabas and Jane Boswell were the parents of the following children : Elizabeth, born in 1785: Benjamin, born in 1787; William, born in 1789;

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Jane, born in 1794; Delilah, born in 1797; Sarah and Celia (twins), born June 22, 1800; Eli, born in 1803; Hiram, born in 1805, and Susanna, born in 1808. The Boswells were compelled to make their own clothes out of the rude material furnished by the wilderness, and in other ways faced the privations common to the pioneers of that day.

John Barton was reared on the farm in Wayne county and married Rachel Penland, who was born and reared in Preble county, Ohio. They settled in Wayne county, Indiana, but later moved to Iowa, remaining there but a short time, however, shortly returning to Wayne county, Indiana. The Bartons were descendants of an early Quaker family of this name. John Barton and wife were the parents of six children, Hannah, the wife of Jesse Flatter, of Darke county, Ohio; Sylvester, who married Lydia Mendenhall and lives in Whittier, Colorado; Absalom, the subject of this sketch; Charles, who married Lizzie Wheeler and lives at Frankfort, Indiana; Theodore, who married Minnie Spencer and lives in New Paris, this county, and Lila, the wife of S. B. Mikesell, of Darke county, Ohio.

Absalom Barton spent his boyhood days on the farm. He was educated in the district schools of Indiana and at an early age he was thrown upon his own resources. He worked upon a farm by the month until he was twenty-four years old, at which time he had saved a very little money, his wages having been used by his father until Absalom was twenty years old.

Mr. Barton was married on December 4, 1881, to Martha E. Newbern, who was born, May 13, 1858. in Wayne county, Indiana, who was reared in the same neighborhood as her husband, they attending the same school. She was the daughter of William and Susanna (Townsend) Newbern, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Pennsylvania, who were the parents of eight other children. John W., George. Mary J., Addie, Clara E., Judith A., and two deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Barton have had three children, two now living. Walter E. and Clarence H. Walter E., born on June 6. 1886, who was graduated from the New Paris high school and from the Richmond Business College, is connected with the Central Life Insurance Company, at New York city, of which he is assistant general manager. He married Marion H. Knight in April, 1914. Clarence H., born on August 27, 1891, was graduated from the New Paris high school and is unmarried and at home.

Mr. Barton is a Republican, although he has never been especially ac- tive in political affairs, preferring to devote his time and energy to his farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres one mile west of New Paris, Ohio. Mrs. Barton is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Barton is a member

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of Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chan- cellor. Mrs. Barton is a member of the Pythian Sisters No. 215, and is a past chief of the lodge. She is the protector in this lodge at this time.

The Barton family are highly respected in Jefferson township where they live and are well known.

CHARLES W. BLOOM.

It is a well-recognized fact that the most powerful influence in shaping and controlling public life is the press. It reaches a greater number of people than any other agency and thus always has been and always will be the most important factor in moulding public opinion and shaping the destiny of the nation. Charles W. Bloom was prominently identified with the journ- alism of eastern Ohio for many years. He was connected with several papers, but during his most active newspaper career, was the editor and proprietor of the New Paris Mirror. Mr. Bloom sold a half interest in this paper in 1902, and in 1906 disposed of the other interest. Throughout the greater part of his life, Mr. Bloom has been a successful farmer and is so today. He also was connected with another profession which is perhaps second only to that of the press in moulding and shaping public opinion. For many years, Mr. Bloom was a successful teacher in Preble county, and today, therefore, he may be considered as a representative farmer, a forceful journ- alist and a capable teacher.

Charles W. Bloom was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, September 4. 1846, the son of Guy and Hannah (Jameson) Bloom, the former a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, born in 1816. About 1825 Guy Bloom accompanied his parents to Darke county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood on a farm. He came to Preble county when a young man and married Hannah Jameson, a native of Kentucky, born in 1826, who came to New Paris, this county, with her parents in 1836. Her father was Wesley Jameson, a native of Kentucky, who left that state in 1836, lived in New Paris until the early fifties when he removed first to Rushville, Indiana, and then to Noblesville. Indiana, where he died.

The paternal grandfather of Charles W. Bloom was Joseph Bloom, a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of an old-time German family of that state. He died in Darke county, Ohio, in October, 1868. Guy Bloom, the father of Charles W., was a farmer and at one time owned seven hun-

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dred acres of land. He was a progressive citizen in every respect and was usually the first man in his neighborhood to purchase all of the improved implements to be used on a farm. He was a man of indomitable energy and great executive ability. Any man who came to his farm hunting work could find it. In this he was prompted by humane impulses and the duty which one man, however successful, owes to the other, however unfortunate. He was for many years an active member of the Masonic lodge. He died in September, 1883, and his wife died in 1899.

Charles W. Bloom was the eldest of ten children, all of whom were born in Preble county, Ohio. Those now living, besides Charles W., are Mary, the wife of William B. Reid, and Homer. Charles W. Bloom received his early education in the common schools of Preble county, Ohio, and at the academy at Richmond, Indiana. He went to Richmond at the age of nineteen and there engaged with his father for a time in the furniture business. Later he became an engineer and, on his return to New Paris, located on the farm, which he operated in the summer. During the winter months, for a period of six years, he taught school.

On January 6, 1870, Mr. Bloom was married to Anna Pence, a native of Preble county, Ohio, and the daughter of Nimrod and Elizabeth Pence. To this union, one daughter, Grace, has been born. She learned the printing business with her father and is now the wife of W. L. Hahn, a merchant of New Paris, Ohio.

After his marriage, Mr. Bloom continued teaching for four years and then devoted all of his spare time to his farm until 1884. He now owns a splendid farm of one hundred and ninety-eight acres in Jefferson township. In 1884 Mr. Bloom moved to New Paris and was engaged in the newspaper business until 1906, in which year he disposed of his paper. This paper was established in 1887 and was published under the name of The Business Mirror for some time. Mr. Bloom first established, however, The Amateur.

Charles W. Bloom became a member of the national guard in 1864. The guard was called out and Mr. Bloom served one hundred days in the Civil War.

Mr. Bloom is an independent voter, but he is a prominent and influential Prohibitionist and a particularly strong temperance man. He was a delegate of the Prohibition party to the national convention in Pittsburgh in 1896 and for many years took an active part in the councils of his party. Fraternally, Mr. Bloom is a member of New Paris Lodge No. 303, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past grand. He also has served as secretary of the lodge, a position which he has held for twenty-seven years. Mr.

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Bloom has always identified himself with the Universalist church. He is a prominent member of this church and for several years was clerk of the local parish. Mr. Bloom takes an active interest in everything pertaining to New Paris and the surrounding country. He is a director in the First National Bank of New Paris and helped to organize this bank. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom are comfortably situated in their beautiful home and are enjoying the fruits of their early labors. No more highly respected citizens are to be found anywhere than Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Bloom, and they very properly stand high in the estimation of the people of New Paris and vicinity.

GEORGE W. PICKETT.

Among the farmers of Preble county who have to their credit many long years of industrious and intelligent farm management, George W. Pickett, of Jefferson township, is worthy of special note here. Mr. Pickett comes of a good family, one that has always been strong for right living and industrious habits. for morality and all that contributes to the welfare of the great commonwealth of Ohio. Such people are welcome in any com- munity, for they are empire builders and as such they push the frontier of civilization westward and onward, leaving the green, wide-reaching wilder- ness of the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beauti- ful with green fields. They constitute the sterling horde which moved the great Bishop Whipple to write "Westward the course of empire takes its way."

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History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 60

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

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