USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 61
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George W. Pickett, a farmer living on Rural Route No. I, out of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Wayne county. Indiana, April 8, 1868, the son of Milton L. and Mary E. ( Smithson ) Pickett. Milton L. Pickett was born in Wayne county, Indiana, the son of' Benjamin and Deborah (Clark) Pickett. Benjamin Pickett was a native of North Carolina and was reared on a farm. When a young man, he moved to Wayne county, Indiana, where he located on a farm on what is now the present site of the city of Richmond. He located there in 1808 and lived in that county until his death. Deborah Clark was a native of Maryland and moved to Wayne county with her parents at a very early day. Benjamin Pickett and Deborah Clark were married in Wayne county, Indiana, and were the parents of Eli, William, John, Eber, Milton L., Albert, Mary and Hannah.
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Milton L. Pickett was reared on a farm in Wayne county, Indiana, and attended the schools of his day and generation. He was married to Mary E. Smithson, a native of Highland county, Ohio, and after their marriage, they settled in Wayne county, Indiana, where they spent the rest of their lives. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living, Elwood S., of Wayne county, Indiana; Ella, the wife of I. W. Gregg, of Elwood, Indiana; Oliver B., who lives in California; Lizzie, the wife of I. S. Van Anstal, of Preble county ; T. Henry, who lives in Preble county; Cynthia A., who is single and lives in Preble county, Ohio, and George W.
George W. Pickett spent his boyhood days on the farm in Wayne county, Indiana. He was educated in the public schools and in the Richmond Normal School. Upon completing his education, Mr. Pickett received a certificate to teach school, but did not follow this vocation.
Mr. Pickett was married in 1905 to Emma Griffis, who was born in Jackson township, this county, July 29, 1874, the daughter of Samuel M. and Rebecca (Blinn) Griffis, the former a native of this county and the latter a native of Warren county, Ohio. Samuel M. Griffis was reared on a farm in Washington township, this county, and was educated in the schools of his home neighborhood. Upon arriving at manhood's estate he took up the vocation of farming and followed this all his life, the most of which time was spent on a farm in Jackson township, he being one of the best-known and most influential farmers of that township. He died in October, 1910, at the age of seventy-two years, his wife having preceded him to the grave on January 16, 1899, at the age of fifty-four. Samuel M. Griffis was a Demo- crat and was influential in the local councils of his party for many years. At one time he was a member of the Masonic order and he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, in the affairs of which they ever took an active interest. To Samuel and Rebecca ( Blinn) Griffis were born seven children: Anna, who married Thomas Bowen, of New Paris, this county ; George F .. who lives at Eaton, this county; Roscoe, also living at Eaton; Ida, who married Ora Oler, a resident of Darke county, Ohio; Emma, who married Mr. Pickett; Mary, who married Edward Jacks, of Jackson township, this county, and John, who also lives in Jackson township.
To George W. and Emma (Griffis) Pickett one son has been born. George W., Jr., who was born on April 2, 1911.
Mr. Pickett is a Democrat and he and Mrs. Pickett are members of the Friends church, he having a birthright in that church. George W. Pickett is the owner of one hundred and eighty and ninety one-hundredths acres of
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splendid farming land in Preble county and is a prosperous, progressive and up-to-date citizen in every respect. He has been a successful breeder of hogs and Jersey cattle. Mr. Pickett has not only been a successful farmer, but is what might be called a successful citizen, because he has performed faithfully those duties that have devolved upon him in his relations with his fellow men.
CHARLES P. JONES.
Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages. As a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free. outdoor life of the farmer has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterizes true manhood. No truer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, invigorating labor of the fields. It has always been the soil from which has sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country. The majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm, and were indebted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they gained. Among the enterprising farmers of Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, is Charles P. Jones, who lives on Rural Route No. 2, out of New Paris, Ohio.
Charles P. Jones was born in Jefferson township. Preble county, Ohio, November 11, 1866, a son of William D. and Matilda ( Mikesell) Jones. both of whom were natives of this county, the latter having been born in Jefferson township, where she died on December 24, 1897, having always made her home in that township. William D. and Matilda ( Mikesell) Jones were the parents of ten children. four of whom are living: Ira E., a farmer of Lake county, Michigan, married Ella Burkett : Charles P., the immediate subject of this review: Elsie J., the wife of Ed. O. O'Toole, a resident of Mt. Sterling, Ohio, and Harry J., of Bradford, Ohio, who married Dora Petry.
Charles P. Jones spent his boyhood days on a farm in Jefferson town- ship. When old enough he attended the district schools during the winter seasons, and worked on the farm in the summers. Mr. Jones has lived on the same farm, which he now owns and occupies, for more than forty years. with the exception of ten months. He owns thirty-two acres of land in Jefferson township, and is an extensive breeder of a good grade of live stock of all kinds.
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On December 2, 1891, Charles P. Jones was married to Nora McMahon, who was born at Eldorado, Ohio, July 7, 1865, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Nagle) McMahon, who were both natives of Ireland. Mrs. Jones was educated in the public schools of Preble county. To this union one daughter, Minnie, was born, September 21, 1892. She was graduated ,from the common schools and is the wife of Cletus C. Kuth. They live with Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
Mr. Jones is a Republican, but has not taken an active interest in political affairs. Fraternally, he belongs to Fellowship Lodge No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons, and is also a member of New Paris Lodge No. 303, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Jones is a devout member of the Presbyterian church at New Paris, Ohio, and takes an active interest in the affairs of this church.
The Jones family is one of the oldest families now living in western Ohio and eastern Indiana, and Charles P. Jones is a worthy representative of this old and highly respected family. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are worthy citizens of Jefferson township, where they are well known and in every respect entitled to representation in a work of this character. The esteem in which Mr. Jones is held by his neighbors was demonstrated on two occas- sions of an official character, he having twice been elected to the responsible office of township trustee, in the discharge of the duties of which office he brought to bear a sound business judgment and a degree of care for the details of his office, which earned for his administration the commendation of all in any way related to public affairs in that community. His terms of service covered the period comprised in the years 1909-1913.
SAMUEL W. ROBERTS.
The old song which carries a refrain containing the line: "The farmer feeds them all," states a very fundamental and economic truth. Without the farmer the rest of the country would starve within a week, despite the large amount of food in storage. Every other occupation might be done away with, and people could live, but a total cessation of farming, in a very short time, actually would depopulate the earth. A man can live without banks all his life, but deprive him of his bread and his career is soon ended. Farming is becoming an honored profession. District schools are teaching it as a science, and colleges are granting degrees for agricultural training. Without
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the farmer, the banker would close his doors, the manufacturer would shut down his factory and railroads would suspend operations. Among the hon- ored farmers of Preble county, who helps to keep the banker, the manufac- turer and the railroads going, is Samuel W. Roberts, a farmer living on Rural Route No. I, out of New Paris, Ohio.
Samuel W. Roberts was born in Darke county, Ohio, January 4, 1874, the son of Samuel E. and Jane ( Barton ) Roberts, the former of whom was born in Darke county, Ohio, and the latter in Wayne county, Indiana. For a time after they were married the Robertses lived in Darke county, but in 1878 they moved to Wayne county, Indiana, where they lived the rest of their lives. Samuel E. Roberts died May 23, 1906, and his widow is still living, now residing in Darke county, Ohio. They were the parents of five children, Jennie, the wife of A. L. Reid, of Richmond, Indiana; W. E., a retired farmer of New Paris; Samuel W., the subject of this sketch; Mary E., the wife of Norlie Hunt, of Darke county, Ohio, and Lurene, the wife of Delbert Funk, of Richmond, Indiana.
Samuel W. Roberts was four years old when his parents moved to Wayne county, Indiana. He spent his boyhood days on the farm in Wayne county and was educated in the schools of that county.
On September 14, 1890, Mr. Roberts was married to Lillie C. Noggle, who was born at New Madison, in Darke county, Ohio, and who was edu- cated in the district schools of that county. To this union there are three living children, Roy W., born on May 30, 1894, who is a graduate of the common schools and a farmer at home; Faye, born on May 23, 1896, who was graduated from the common schools and attended the high school at New Madison for one year, and Opal, who was born on March 31, 1898. Ralph, who was born on May 9, 1905, died in 1910.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts went to housekeeping in Wayne county, Indiana, where they remained for one year, at the end of which time they removed to Mr. Roberts's father's farm in Darke county, where they lived until 1900. in which year Mr. Roberts purchased the farm of one hundred and ninety-one and two-hundredths acres in section 5, Jeffer- son township, this county.
Samuel W. Roberts not only has been a successful farmer, but he has been an extensive raiser of stock. He keeps a high grade of stock and uses only the most improved and modern methods in farming. Mr. Roberts has splendid buildings on his farm and everything is kept in a splendid state of repair. From every point, the farm shows the thrift of its owner and proprietor.
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Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are members of the United Brethren church at Pleasant Hill. Mrs. Roberts and her daughters are members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and of the Home Missionary Society and are active in both of these organizations. The Roberts family are representative citizens of Preble county and as such, are entitled to representation in a volume which undertakes to set out the historical and biographical points of interest in Preble county.
HARRY W. BRAGG.
There are several hundred different occupations, but there is only one of all this number that is absolutely necessary to man's existence. The three things without which man cannot live are food, clothing and shelter, and it is the farmer who not only controls the food supply, but also holds the clothing products of the world in his hands. His is the only occupation which can exist independently of all others. An increasing number of our best farming men are taking agricultural courses in colleges, thereby fitting themselves the better for scientific farming. The profession has taken on in- creased dignity within the past few years and more and more of our young men are applying themselves to scientific farming. The farmer of today has the immense advantage of working with machinery which renders his work free from many of its former disadvantages. Preble county has hun- dreds of splendid farmers and among them Harry W. Bragg holds a worthy place.
Harry W. Bragg, a prosperous young farmer living on Rural Route No. 2, out of New Paris, Ohio, and the proprietor of "Brookside Farm," a beautiful place consisting of ninety-two acres two and one-half miles north- east of New Paris, Ohio, was born near Marion, in Grant county, Indiana, December 11, 1880. He is a son of L. D. and Lida J. (Mackey) Bragg, the former a native of Grant county, Indiana, who married Lida J. Mackey in New Paris, Ohio. L. D. Bragg is still living, while his wife died in 1906. They were the parents of four. children: Harry W., with whom this narra- tive deals; Emma, the wife of Vernie Lawrence, lives in Eldorado, Ohio; Edward, a farmer of Jefferson township, married Daisy Hogston, and Elbert, who is unmarried and living with his father.
Harry W. Bragg was four years old when he came with his parents to Preble county, and he received his education in the common schools of this county. He assisted his father with the work on the farm and early learned
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the principles of good farming, in which vocation he has been continuously engaged since reaching his maturity.
Mr. Bragg was married on January 11, 1902, to Rosa Emrick, a native of Darke county, Ohio, born on May 6, 1880, and to this union two children have been born: Orville J., born September 28, 1904, and Esther G., born March 17, 1909. Mr. Bragg and his family are loyal and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Paris, Ohio, and take an active part in the work of this denomination, Mr. Bragg being one of the trustees of the church, as well as a member of its official board. He also is superin- tendent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Bragg is an adherent of no particular political party, but votes in- dependently, believing that in doing so he is best serving the interests of his community. Fraternally, he is a member of White Water Valley Grange No. 1837, in which he has passed all the chairs, being now a past master of this grange. Mrs. Bragg is also a member of the same grange.
On his fine farm in Jefferson township, Mr. Bragg makes a specialty of breeding high-grade live stock, and has a very fine herd of Polled Here- ford cattle, headed by "Reginald No. 2054," whose dam was "Miss Reginald No. 143434." He also keeps a good grade of hogs and other live stock.
In all the avenues of life Mr. Bragg has performed well his part and well deserves the respect and esteem in which he is held by all who know him, and well merits representation in the annals of his county's history.
JAMES B. MURRAY.
The character of a community is determined in a large measure by the lives of a comparatively few of its members. If its moral and intellectual status is good, if, in a social way, it is a pleasant place in which to reside, if its reputation as to the integrity of its citizens has extended to other localities, it will be found that the standards of the leading men have been high and their influence such as to mold the character and shape the lives of those with whom they mingle. In placing the late James B. Murray in the front rank of such men, justice is rendered to him and to the community in which he lived. Although a quiet and unassuming man with no ambition for public position or leadership, he contributed much to the material, civic and moral advancement of his community, while his admirable qualities of head and
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heart, and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life won for him the esteem and confidence of the circle in which he moved. Although he is now sleeping the sleep of the just, his influence still lives, and his memory is revered by many.
James B. Murray was born in Eaton, Ohio, February 28, 1843, the seventh son of Mitchell and Lydia (Brasier) Murray, both of whom were natives of Delaware, where they received their education, and where they were married. They located near Eaton, Ohio, and later moved to Darke county, Ohio, but after a sometime residence there they returned to Preble county, where Mr. Murray rented two hundred and seventy acres of land in Jackson township. After living there for some time he purchased a tract of land in Darke county, north of Eldorado. Mrs. Murray died on this latter farm, and Mr. Murray's death occurred subsequently in Preble county. They were the parents of thirteen children.
James B. Murray was a young man at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, and enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regi- ment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was in the service of the Union for three months.
The late James B. Murray was married on January 1, 1868, to Martha J. Mills, who was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, Septem- ber 13, 1848, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Swerer) Mills. George Mills was a native of Ireland, who came to the United States with his par- ents. He received his early education in this country and taught school for some time after reaching manhood, but later took up farming, which he followed through life. Three of his five children are now living: Joseph Mills, a resident of Miami county, Indiana; William, a resident of New Paris, Ohio, and Martha J., the widow of Mr. Murray. Mrs. Murray was reared on a farm in Jefferson township, receiving her education in the public schools of her home neighborhood, afterwards attending the high school at New Paris, where she afterward became a teacher. To James Murray and wife seven children were born: Olive May, who died in 1914, was the wife of William Tyler; Edwin O., a resident of New Paris; Charles A., of Jack- son township; Elwood, unmarried, lives at home with his mother; Cora A., the wife of William Swisher, of Dayton, Ohio; Ethel M., unmarried, is living at home; Elbert J., born February 16, 1891, also is unmarried and lives at home.
Mrs. Murray is a member of the Presbyterian church at New Paris. She is a quiet, unassuming lady, well known in New Paris and Jefferson
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township, where she has spent much of her life. She has always been de- voted to the interests of her children and was a loving helpmate to her late husband, and as a wife and mother is more than worthy of any tribute which might be paid to her sex.
JOSEPH C. STEEL.
For nearly a century the Steel family has been represented in the affairs of Preble county, Ohio, and during all the intervening years has been recog- nized among the most prominent and influential families of the county. From the first the members of the family have devoted themselves principally to the occupation of farming, a calling in which they have achieved the highest success. The chief living member of this prominent family is Joseph C. Steel, who was born in this county and who is now one of its most prominent farm- ers and fruit growers.
Joseph C. Steel was born in Israel township, near Fairhaven, Preble county, Ohio, February 1, 1845, the son of Samuel and Martha (Hays) Steel. Samuel Steel was born in North Carolina, October 29, 1814, and died in Preble county, Ohio, January 13 1897. His wife was born June 26, 1815, in Israel township, Preble county, in the same house in which she spent her life. There she was married and bore all her children and there she died July 26, 1879, aged sixty-four years and one month. She lies in Fairhaven cemetery in Israel township.
Samuel Steel came west with his parents in 1818, and was four years of age when the family settled in Preble county. He attended the subscription schools of the county and then entered upon his vocation as a farmer. In 1840 he married Martha Hays, and to this union eight children were born, but three of whom are now living. The children were: Joseph, the subject of this sketch; Mary Jane Elizabeth, the wife of Harvy Bell, of Eaton, Ohio; Robert, who lives on the old homestead in Israel township; John K., who died about 1894; Martha Ann, who died at the age of nineteen, and three children who died in infancy. Samuel Steel followed the calling of a farmer throughout his life. and was rewarded with great prosperity. He was an earn- est Christian and on the Sabbath would always be found in his pew at church.
Joseph C. Steel received a common school education in the schools of Preble county, and, upon the completion of his school days, followed in the footsteps of his father by becoming a farmer. He gave his services to his
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JOSEPH C. STEEL AND GRANDSONS.
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country as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, and on March 3, 1868, he married Mary Jane Smith, a daughter of John and Nancy (Buck) Smith, who was born October 19, 1845, and died December 19, 1879. The union was blessed by six children, two of whom are living. The children were Lillie, who died at the age of two years; Eva Jane, the wife of Levi Reeve, of Camden, Ohio; Cora, who died at the age of fifteen; Samuel, who died at the age of twenty-two months; Walter A., who married Susie Bran- non and was father of two sons, and who died May 2, 1906, at the age of twenty-eight, and Clarence, born in August, 1879, who lives at home and takes active charge of the operation of the farm, and is doing excellent work. Clarence married Alberta Johnson, and three children, Samuel, Vernon and Norman, have been born to them.
In 1872 Joseph C. Steel moved with his family to Kansas, where they lived for four years. At the end of that time they returned to Preble county, Ohio, making the entire trip back with a team, which they drove across the country. Mr. Steel and his father then bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Somers township, three miles southwest of Camden, Preble county, Ohio.
Mr. Steel improved his farm and has developed it as a fruit-growing farm until he now has one of the largest orchards in Preble county. The orchard contains more than eighty acres, and the place is known as the "Home Grown Fruit Farm." Care is taken to produce first-grade products for market, with the result that the fruit grown on this farm has become famous in the sections where it is offered for sale.
Mr. Steel is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Morning Sun, Preble county, Ohio, and his wife also was a member of that church before her death. Mr. Steel is a Republican, although he has never taken an active interest in the campaigns of that party. During late years he has had no partisan affiliation with any particular party, but has made it a point to vote for the men he considers best qualified for the office for which they are running.
Mr. Steel is an excellent example of the solid citizenship of Preble county. He has never attempted to get into the limelight politically or other- wise, but has always been satisfied to devote his entire time and efforts to the prosperity and comfort of his own family, and to the use of his influence in whatever direction he felt would best serve his immediate community. It is such men as Mr. Steel who form the backbone of any community, and whose example leads others to give to a county the best that is in them.
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JOHN J. O'DEA.
No business has made greater advancements during the last half century than agriculture. Practically all the disadvantages which beset the pioneer farmer have been eliminated by modern inventions which tend to lighten the farmers' labors. It takes less labor now to operate a farm of fifty acres than it did to operate a farm of ten acres fifty years ago. Inventions are coming into use every year which are helping the farmer to increase his sphere of usefulness. Ohio is recognized as one of the best farming states in the union and no county in this state has better or more prosperous farm- ers than Preble county. Among the hundreds of farmers who have made this county famous as an agricultural section, there is none more worthy of a place in a biographical volume of this character than John J. O'Dea, a farmer living on Rural Route No. 3, out of New Paris, Ohio, and the pro- prietor of the "Enterprise Stock Farm," of two hundred and eight acres, three miles east of New Paris.
John J. O'Dea was born in Richmond, Indiana, August 14, 1872, the son of Patrick and Bridget (Harrigan) O'Dea, both natives of County Clare, Ireland, who came to the United States early in life and located at Richmond, Indiana. They were married in Richmond and lived there six years after their marriage, at the end of which time they moved to a farm one mile east of Gettysburg, Ohio, where they lived until the death of Mrs. O'Dea after which Mr. O'Dea lived with his children. He made two trips back to Ireland. Mrs. O'Dea died in 1897 and he died July 4, 1913. They were devout mem- bers of the Catholic church.
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