History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 62

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 62

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).

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick O'Dea were the parents of four children, Mary, who was graduated from the New Paris high school and is a teacher in Jeffer- son township, having taught six years in that township; John J., the sub- ject of this sketch; Catherine, the wife of John Cahill, of Dixon township, and Margaret, the wife of Joseph Wadick, of near Camden, Ohio.

John J. O'Dea was reared on a farm in Jefferson township and attended the district schools, where he received his early education. Upon reaching manhood he was for a time employed on the Pennsylvania railroad, but later began farming near Gettysburg, Ohio. He moved to his present farm in 1911, at the time he was united in marriage with Irene Doyle, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and there he built a modern house with basement, furnace, electric lights, hot and cold water and bath.

Mr. O'Dea is an extensive breeder of Duroc-Jersey hogs, a large feeder

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and shipper of cattle and has been especially successful in raising stock. Mr. O'Dea is one of the hustling and up-to-date farmers of Jefferson township and an honorable citizen of the community in which he has spent his entire life. He is a Democrat, although he has never taken an over-active inter- est in political affairs. He and his wife are members of St. John's Catholic church and Mr. O'Dea is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

MRS. SARAH ELIZABETH REYNOLDS.

Eaton is proud of the career of Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, a distinguished resident of that city and a woman who has had a prominent part in prac- tically every movement that has been inaugurated for the benefit of all the citizens of Eaton and Preble county. Mrs. Reynolds is a woman of dis- tinguished ancestry and it must be conceded that she has fulfilled in her life work all obligations imposed upon her by virtue of the distinguished services of the men and women from whom she is descended. Her reputation extends beyond the boundaries of Preble county and this reputation, which is national in character, has been builded upon her notable achievements. Mrs. Reyn- olds is not only to be classed as a leader of her sex, but she has shown in her many works the ability to lead men as well as women. It is a pleasure to be the historian of this volume and to tell the life story of a woman whose years have been so filled with important deeds.

Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, who now lives at 109 West Decatur street, Eaton, Ohio, is a daughter of John M. and Sarah (Truax) Daugherty. John M. Daugherty was born in Jacksonburg, Butler county, Ohio, the son of John M., Sr., and Sarah (Hunt) Daugherty. The Daugherty family were natives of Ireland and came from that country to America in the eighteenth century, locating in Pennsylvania. The Hunt family located in Pennsylvania also, but they came from England.

John M. Daugherty, Jr., the father of Mrs. Reynolds, came from Butler county, Ohio, to Preble county when a child, with his mother, and grew to manhood in Dixon township. He died on the farm where his Grandfather Hunt settled. He was married to Sarah Truax, March 19, 1845. John Truax, the father of Sarah Truax, came from Kentucky and settled on government land in Dixon township, where he became a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. He was a Whig of considerable local prominence.

John M. Daugherty, Jr., was the father of four children, Sarah Eliza-

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beth Reynolds, the subject of this sketch; John S., a former farmer of Dixon township, now living in Eaton, Ohio; the other children, George Waddy and L. C., are deceased.

Mrs. Sarah E. Reynolds was reared on the Hunt homestead, in Dixon township, and was educated in the district schools of that township and in a private school, later teaching school. She was married to Roddie Reynolds, November 28, 1866. He was born in Elphin, Roscommon county, Ireland, August 15, 1844, and came to the United States at the age of five with his mother. He was the only child born to his parents. They first located in New Jersey, but came to Preble county, when he was seven years old, and he was reared in Eaton and educated in the public schools of that city. Mr. Reynolds was a successful hardware merchant and contractor. He was ap- pointed secretary to General Ben LeFevre, congressman from the Eaton district, and for many years lived in Washington, D. C. He also served in the United States navy during the Civil War and was the youngest com- mander in that war. He was chief of the division in the sixth auditor's office at Washington, D. C .; at the time of his death in 1884. Mr. Reynolds was a man held in high esteem by all who knew him. He and Mrs. Reynolds were the parents of three children, two of whom are living, L. C. and Nellie. L. C. is an attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, and has charge of the bonding division of the Maryland Casualty Company. He married Ada Gibbons, the daughter of John Gibbons. Nellie was graduated from the Bishop Strachan School, Wykeham Hall for Young Ladies ( Episcopal), at Toronto, Canada, and married Prof. George R. Eastman, of Dayton, Ohio.

Mrs. S. E. Reynolds represented the women of Preble county, Ohio, at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. She was ap- pointed by the Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, of Columbus, Ohio, one of the com- missioners of the exposition board. Mrs. Reynolds organized a club of forty women and, as a token of appreciation for their work, Mrs. Reynolds was presented by "Uncle Jim" Bruce with the bole of a beautiful buckeye tree cut off the battlefield of Fort St. Clair on the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Fort St. Clair. Lieutenant-Governor Harris and Mayor Ris- inger presented the logs at the one hundredth anniversary celebration held in the city hall. The members of the club were keenly interested and from the tree, which represented the state of Ohio, they made a beautiful cabinet, carved with buckeye leaves and implements representing Indian warfare. This piece was placed in the Ohio building at the exposition and proved to be the only historical and representative piece made by women and shown at the exposi- tion. Mrs. Reynolds now has it in her possession and prizes it very highly.

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This good woman has always been interested in the legends and tradi- tions of the St. Clair history, including the trail of St. Clair from Cincin- nati, Ohio, to Detroit, Michigan. This trail is full of legends and traditions, which make the history not only beautiful but more interesting. Mrs. Reyn- olds has forty pieces of hand-painted china, each one representing St. Clair's connection with the early history of Ohio and these eventually will become the property of the state. She, also has many legends and traditions written more than one hundred years ago. Not very long ago Mrs. Reynolds ob- tained more than four hundred signatures to a petition asking the state Legis- lature, if possible, to purchase the battlefield of Fort St. Clair, which was then owned by Judge William Gilmore and now by his son, Clem, of Dayton, Ohio, if not for Preble county, then for the state of Ohio. Mrs. Reynolds is confident that this will sometime be done.

Mrs. Reynolds is the author of a little St. Clair booklet, which she wrote and presented to "The Little Children I Love." It is illustrated with St. Clair pictures and is an interesting little document. Mrs. Reynolds repre- sented Louisa St. Clair at the one hundredth anniversary of Eaton and rode a pony at the head of the procession, with Mayor George H. Kelley, of Eaton.

To Mrs. Reynolds, perhaps more than to any other person in Eaton, is due the splendid public library which the people of that city now have. The funds for the organization of this library organization were started by the Research Society and consisted in the beginning of one hundred dollars. The idea originated with Mrs. Reynolds, starting with what books this fund would purchase, with a number presented to the society by friends. The small case of books was given a place in a corner of Homan & Randal's furniture store on North Barron street. The ladies, of whom, at that time, Mrs. Homan was president, kept the library open two days out of each week for almost two years before they reached the end of their "great expecta- tions" of founding a public library for Eaton. The incorporators of the Eaton public library were Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, Mrs. Frank Homan, Mrs. William Ortt, Mrs. George Spacht, Mrs. Mary K. Stubbs, Messrs. Chrisler, John Gibbons, B. D. Moses and Dr. Prentis. It is now located at the corner of North Barron and West Decatur streets, one of the most valuable sites in town and the property of the library. Not only has Mrs. Reynolds done a large part in the building and maintenance of the public library, but she has devoted much of her time to the educational uplift of this city. She was editor-in-chief in 1897 of the Eaton Register, which was issued to provide

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funds for the erection of a monument to the soldiers buried in Mound Hill ·cemetery.

Mrs. Reynolds is secretary of the Abner L. Haines Humane Society, of Preble county, and also was a member of the women's board at the children's home. She is a captain commander of the National Naval Association of the United States, has served as secretary of this association, and was chair- man of the Ladies' National Naval Association, which made the strewing of flowers upon the waters, in memory of the sailors and marines who lie buried beneath the waves, a national service. This beautiful service orig- inated with Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, of Pasadena, California, for which she has received hundreds of letters of congratulations from our Presidents, officers of the navy and of the army of the United States; also from naval officers of other countries. She is now president of the El-Camino-Real Society, of California, marking "The King's Highway"-the old missions of California. This is one part of Mrs. Reynolds' work she is particularly proud of and for which she was made an honorary member of the Men's Naval Association of America. Mrs. Reynolds is one of the charter members of the Woman's Relief Corps, in which she is a past president. She is also past worthy matron of the Order of the Eastern Star and represented the chapter at Columbus, Ohio. Mrs. Reynolds is a member of the Pocahontas lodge and was the first Pocahontas in Eaton and is now one of the staff of the great Pocahontas of Ohio. She is a member of the State Historical and Archaeological Society of Ohio and a member ofthe Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1914 she was a delegate to the national conven- tion at Washington, D. C., and is a member of the Richard Arnold chapter at Washington, D. C., being one of the first members of this organization. Mrs. Reynolds is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Hunt, who was with the army of Washington at Valley Forge. Mrs. Reynolds' maternal great-grandfather, David Truax, was a veteran of four wars, the Revolu- tionary, the Blackhawk Indian War, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.

Mrs. Reynolds owns the old Hunt homestead of one hundred and twenty-three acres in Preble county and has a competence entirely sufficient for her declining years. It is a pleasure to recount the facts in the career of such a woman and it is a pleasure to know that they will be preserved in a historical work such as this. With all her accomplishments, however, Mrs. Reynolds is quite modestly unassuming, it being one of her greatest hobbies that it is to one's friends that one is indebted for whatever success attend one's efforts through life. she stoutly maintaining that no one can succeed alone.

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ARTIE J. HAMILTON.

It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real history of a community. His influence as a potential factor in the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. There is always a full measure of satisfaction in re- verting even in a casual way, to their achievements. Such a man is Artie J. Hamilton, ex-postmaster and banker of Eldorado, Ohio, who, in every respect, is a representative citizen of Preble county.

Artie J. Hamilton was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, October 15, 1874, the son and only child of W. W. and Sophia (Schreel) Hamilton. W. W. Hamilton is a native of Preble county, Ohio, but was reared in Montgomery county, Ohio, while his wife was born in Preble county, and reared on a farm in this county. After their marriage they moved to Pyr- mont, Montgomery county, Ohio, where Mr. Hamilton was engaged in con- ducting a general store, which he operated for ten years, and is now living retired at that place. His wife died in 1877. W. W. Hamilton married, secondly, Eliza Mills, and to this union two children were born: Bessie, the wife of James Briney, of Kokomo, Indiana, and Edith, the wife of Albert Belsford.

After the death of his mother, Artie J. Hamilton lived in the family of his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George Schreel, of Preble county, remaining with them until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he entered his father's store at Pyrmont, Ohio, where he remained for three years. At the end of that time, in September, 1895, he moved to Eldo- rado, Ohio, and there learned the baker's trade, and for eight years was engaged in the bakery and restaurant business. On June 7, 1897, he was appointed postmaster of Eldorado, under President Mckinley, and served in this capacity until October 1, 1914. Mr. Hamilton was with his brother- in-law, Jesse King, about three years in the operation of a general store, at the end of which time he purchased his brother-in-law's interest in this store, and has since conducted the store alone. He is now vice-president of the Farmers Banking Company, of Eldorado, and one of the directors of that bank.

Artie J. Hamilton was married to Flora King, of Pyrmont, Ohio, Janu- ary 1, 1896, and to this union two children have been born, Ralph, born on November 25, 1897, and Harold, born on February 21, 1907, the latter of whom is now taking a course in electrical engineering.

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Mr. Hamilton is a member of the Knights of Pythias, having belonged to that fraternal organization since 1895. He is a past chancellor and mem- ber of the grand lodge of this order. He is a stanch adherent of the Re- publican party, and is now president of the Eldorado board of education. Mr. Hamilton is a quiet, unassuming citizen and highly respected in Eldorado and Monroe township, where he has spent practically his whole life.

PROF. WALTER WAGGONER.

The life history of one who has lived an honorable and useful life and obtained notable distinction cannot be repeated too often. Prof. Walter Waggoner, although one of the most successful, as well as one of the best- known educators of Preble county, is still a young man. His character not only is marked by purity of purpose, but he is well disciplined in mind and has maintained the vantage point from which life presents itself in correct proportion. He has been guided by the highest principles of integrity and honor, and is simple and unostentatious in his habits, tolerant in his point of view and broad-minded in his judgments, his character being a positive expression of a strong nature. His career has been a busy and useful one and his name is respected by all those who have occasion to come into con- tact with him or who have knowledge of his life work. Professor Waggoner has added dignity and honor to the educational profession in this section of the state.

Prof. Walter Waggoner, superintendent of the Monroe township, Eldo- rado and West Manchester schools, is a native of Monroe township, Preble county, Ohio, and was born on June 13, 1883. the son of William and Sarah F. (Shiverdecker) Waggoner, both natives of Preble county, Ohio, the former of whom was born southwest of West Alexandria. William Wag- goner is a son of Silas and Magdalene (Voorhiss) Waggoner, the former a native of Virginia. Silas Waggoner was twelve years old when he came from Virginia to Ohio with his parents and was a resident of Preble county the remainder of his life.

William Waggoner was reared in Preble county, Ohio, and married in that county. Both he and his wife were educated in the common schools. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living, Prof. Walter, the subject of this sketch; Mary, the wife of John Schlotterbeck; Ruth, a graduate of the common schools, spent two years in high school;

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Charles D., who was graduated from the common schools and spent one year in the high school. Mr. and Mrs. William Waggoner are members of the Evangelical church.

Professor Waggoner was reared on a farm and received his early educa- tion in the district schools, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898. He was later graduated from the high school at West Manchester in 1902. He has spent a year in Earlham College and has done special work at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Professor Waggoner taught for seven years in district schools and was principal of the high school at New Paris for five years. He was later elected by the board of education as dis- trict superintendent of Monroe township, Eldorado and West Manchester, a position which he still holds.

On January 29, 1905, Professor Waggoner was married to Elsie May Imes, a graduate of the common schools, the daughter of Francis and Clara J. (Witteman) Imes, both natives of Preble county. To this union two sons and one daughter have been born, William H., who is nine years old; Ralph E., who is seven, and Frances I., who is two.

Professor and Mrs. Waggoner are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Paris. Professor Waggoner was superintendent of the Sunday school and treasurer of the church. He was also one of the trustees of the church and likewise president of the Epworth League for two years. Politically, he is a Democrat. Professor Waggoner is entitled to rank as one of the worthy sons of Preble county, a young man who by dint of his own labor, his own industry, foresight and judgment, has made un- usual progress and for whom his friends could say even greater and better things.

NATHAN CALDWELL SLOAN.

Among the families prominent in the affairs of Preble county, Ohio, few possess greater historical interest than those founded by the heroes of our early wars-those early settlers who fought so ably to secure the inde- pendence of the United States, and who after the war had been prosecuted to a successful conclusion established new homes for themselves in the wilderness. They were inured to hardship, familiar with the difficulties of pioneer life and in every way qualified to meet and grapple with the many obstacles which lie in the paths of the founders of any new community. One of the families of Preble county which was founded by a veteran of the

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War of 1812, is the Sloan family, which has since gained considerable prom- inence, not only in the affairs of this county, but in the affairs of the nation as well.

Nathan Caldwell Sloan, the subject of this sketch, was born in Morning Sun, Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, March 25, 1854, a son of Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan. He is now the only representative of the Sloan family living in Preble county, Ohio.

The first members of the Sloan family to come to Preble county were Captain Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan, who migrated from the Abbeville district, South Carolina, about 1803, and settled in Israel township, Preble county, one and one-half miles north of Morning Sun, soon after their arrival in Ohio. During the War of 1812, Richard Sloan raised a company bearing his name, and served for some months along the Canadian boundary in the warfare against the British and the Indians. Capt. Richard Sloan died in 1849, and is buried in Hopewell cemetery. He and his wife were charter members of the Hopewell United Presbyterian church. Capt. Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan were the parents of five sons and three daughters, all of whom, except one, also are buried in the Hopewell cemetery. John and Nathan Sloan were farmers. John Sloan had no sons, but he had one daughter, who became the wife of Jeremiah Rankin. She died at Tarkio, Missouri, some years ago, leaving two sons and a number of grandchildren. Nathan Sloan had one son, William, who recently died in Glendale, California, leaving one son, Arthur, a mining engineer, who lives at Clifton, Arizona, and a daughter who resides at Glendale, California. Elihu, the youngest child, became a distinguished lawyer, first in his adopted state of Mississippi, and later in California, where he died in 1866. James Sloan, another son, died in early life. Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth were the three daughters born to Capt. Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan.

Dr. Richard Sloan, Jr., one of the five sons above mentioned, was born in 1808. In his early manhood he and his brother, Elihu, were the neighbor- hood tailors. They attended night school and studied Latin and chemistry. Dr. Richard Sloan was graduated from the Ohio Medical College at Cincin- nati in 1844, and practiced medicine as a skillful and faithful family physi- cian in Morning Sun and vicinity for over forty years. He was born on December 28, 1808, and was married to Mary Caldwell in 1845, one year after he was graduated from the medical college. He was a devout and con- sistent elder in the United Presbyterian church for more than forty years. Dr. Richard Sloan died on February 17, 1884. His wife, Mary Caldwell, who was born on February 1, 1823, died on January 19, 1908. Mary

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(Caldwell) Sloan was the daughter of William Caldwell, a colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his parents probably hav- ing come from the north of Ireland. He, however, lived in North Carolina.

The union of Dr. Richard Sloan and Mary Caldwell was blessed by six children : Jane E., born on July 4, 1846; Mary Cora, born on January 3, 1849; James A., born on May 6, 1851; Nathan, born on March 25, 1854; Richard E., born on June 22, 1857; John M., born on November 9, 1861. Jane E. is the widow of the late Dr. J. W. Harris, and resides in San Fran- cisco, California, where she has a daughter living, also a son, R. S. Harris, who resides in Los Angeles, California. Doctor Harris died about 1905. Mary Cora died in August, 1850. James A. died on May 6, 1871. Nathan Caldwell is the subject of this sketch. Richard E. was for many years associate justice of the supreme court of Arizona. He served as governor of Arizona from 1909 to 1912, and was the first United States district judge for Arizona. He now resides at Phoenix, Arizona, where he is a prominent lawyer. Richard E. Sloan married Mary Brown and they have two daugh- ters living, Eleanor and Mary Caldwell Sloan. John M. Sloan, the last of the six children born to Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan, died on December 4, 1887.

Although Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan had a large family, only one of their children or descendants is living in Ohio, Nathan Caldwell Sloan, the subject of this sketch, being the sole representative of the Sloan family remaining in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio. Nathan Caldwell Sloan received his early education in the schools of Morning Sun, Ohio, and later attended the Morning Sun Academy. After completing his studies he took up the vocation of a farmer, and has pursued that occupation all his life. He now owns one hundred and seventy-four acres of splendid land in section 27, within three-quarters of a mile of Morning Sun, Ohio. He also owns a home in Morning Sun in which he was born. In his farming Mr. Sloan specializes in the breeding and raising of high grade cattle and hogs.

Mr. Sloan has never married. In politics he is a strong supporter of the Republican party, although he has never been a candidate for any office of a political nature, having devoted his life to the management and direc- tion of his farm.

In every respect Nathan Caldwell Sloan has fulfilled the promises of his worthy ancestors, a grandfather who fought in the War of 1812, as the captain of a company, a maternal great-grandfather who was a colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and even the promises of his father, the pioneer physician, who during the Civil War was connected with the Ohio state

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militia, and who assisted in drilling the newly-enlisted soldiers of Morning -Sun, Ohio. Nathan Caldwell Sloan and his brother, Richard E. Sloan, have also fulfilled the promises of wholesome, religious living established by their worthy father, who was an influential member in the United Presbyterian church at Hopewell and who later assisted in establishing a church of the same denomination at Morning Sun.

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History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 62

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

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