USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 63
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In fact, the Sloan family has always been distinguished for its devotion to the church, loyalty to the country, and faithfulness to duty in whatever vocation of life the members of this family have engaged. Throughout his long residence in Preble county, Nathan Caldwell Sloan has most ably upheld the traditions of his family, a most notable one from the date when Capt .. Richard Sloan first came to Preble county down to the present time. Nathan Caldwell Sloan is a substantial citizen in his community and is highly re- spected by all his neighbors and by all with whom he comes in contact.
DAVID L. FUDGE.
The greatest of the natural resources of Preble county is the soil and naturally the real estate business is a substantial vocation in this county. In the business affairs of Eaton and Preble county, no man occupies a higher position or one of more importance among those who are conserving the com- mercial and industrial prosperity of Preble county, than David L. Fudge. None occupies a higher standing among his associates than Mr. Fudge.
David L. Fudge was born in Monroe township, Preble county, Ohio, April 26, 1853, the son of James and Rosabel (Pence) Fudge, natives of Virginia, who were the parents of seven children, five of whom lived to maturity : James Harvey, who died in 1865; Mary Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Benjamin Richards; Thomas C., who died at the age of seventeen; Oliver P., who died at the age of fifteen; Hulda Jane, deceased, who married Bernard McGee; David L., the subject of this sketch, and Peter M., deceased. David L. Fudge is the only one of these now living.
James Fudge, the father of David L., was reared in Washington town- ship, Preble county, Ohio, and throughout his life was a farmer and stock raiser. He owned a farm of two hundred and fifty-four acres in Monroe township. Mr. Fudge and three sons died within six weeks time of typhoid fever, in 1864 and 1865. Mrs. Fudge died in 1884 at the age of sixty-five. She was a member of the Lutheran church.
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The paternal grandparents of David L. Fudge were David and Elizabeth (Hunter) Fudge. pioneer settlers of Preble county, who settled in the north- ern part of Washington township, at Bonta's Fork, where they both died. David Fudge built a brick house, which is still standing. He had a large family : Jacob, George, Daniel, James, John, Robert, Joseph, Thomas, David and Catherine, the latter of whom married Daniel Pence. All of these children lived to maturity.
The maternal grandparents of David I .. Fudge were Peter and Elizabeth (Harshman) Pence, natives of Luray Valley, Virginia. They were pioneers in Monroe township, this county, their home being on the National road, and both died at advanced ages. They had a large family, Reuben, Andrew J., Job, Peter, Rosabel, Delilah, Barbara, Sarah, Jane and Elizabeth.
David L. Fudge was reared on his father's farm and attended the dis- trict schools. He lived at home until grown and then "huckstered" about four years, at the same time looking after a small tract of land which he owned. He then went into the stock business and continued in this business- for eighteen years, during which time he controlled two hundred and fifty acres, part of which he owned. In 1901 he moved to Eaton and went into the real estate and loan business which he still continues. He sold and divided his farm property but still owns a splendid tobacco farm, although a small one, on North Barron street, close to the Eaton corporation line. He owns. a fine home in Eaton, at 115 East Somers street, and also owns other city property. Mr. Fudge is a stockholder in the Preble County National Bank and does a large real estate business.
On October 4, 1874, David L. Fudge was married to Sarah Jane Young, the daughter of Levi and Hulda (Barnhart) Young, to which union six children were born, Tyler L., Laura Gennethe, Daisy Viola, Lilly May, Flor- ence Elizabeth and Sylvia Azel. Tyler L. is a farmer and stock raiser in Washington township. He married Minnie Kimmel and has two children, Orley and Opal Bernice. Laura Gennethe married E. J. Ashman, of Dixon township, and has two children, Priscilla May and Daisy Viola. Daisy Viola married Elmer Kimmel, of Monroe township, and has two children, Willard F. and Goldie Jane. Lilly May married Henry Miller. of Monroe township, and has one child, Anna Marie. Florence Elizabeth died at the age of nine months and twenty days. Sylvia Azel died at the age of eleven years.
Mrs. Fudge was born in Washington township, Preble county, Ohio, August 6, 1854. Her parents were natives of Ohio. Her father died in 1883, at the age of sixty, while her mother is still living at the age of eighty-
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eight. They were the parents of eleven children, Ephriam, Mary Ann Andrew, Sylvester, Sarah Jane, Catherine Kuntz, Henry M., Laura, Ella, Thurman and Caroline Elizabeth, the latter of whom died in infancy.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Fudge were Adam Young and wife. Their children were Henry, Eli, Alkana, Sarah and others. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Fudge were David Barnhart and wife, he dying at the age of ninety-two years. Their children were Hiram, John, Andrew, David, Samuel, Catherine and Hulda.
Mr. Fudge is a member of Waverly Lodge No. 143, Knights of Pythias. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for thirty-three years. He and his wife are members of the Pythian Sisters and he belongs to the Orientals. Mr. and Mrs. Fudge are members of the First Christian church at Eaton and Mr. Fudge is a trustee of that denomination. Mr. Fudge is a Democrat, but he has never held office, preferring to discharge his duties as a citizen in a private rather than in a public capacity. Mr. and Mrs. Fudge are held in high esteem in Eaton and Preble county and are widely popular.
CRITTENDEN A. HAWLEY, M. D.
Among those who stand out as distinguished types of the world's work- ers is Dr. C. A. Hawley, who is one of the able and honored physicians and surgeons of Preble county, Ohio. A man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, of most gracious personality, of strong and noble character, and one who has labored with zeal and devotion for the alleviation of human suf- fering. Doctor Hawley is clearly entitled to representation among the pro- gressive and enterprising citizens of Preble county. He is devoted to his chosen vocation and has lent honor and dignity to the medical profession. In all his relations Doctor Hawley has maintained a due regard for the high standard of professional ethics characteristic of his profession, and from the beginning of his practice, has exhibited marked skill in the treatment of diseases.
Dr. Crittenden A. Hawley, a physician and surgeon of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, October 10, 1855, a son of Albert and Maria E. ( Watts) Hawley, the former a native of Warren county, Ohio, and the latter a native of Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio.
Albert Hawley was a son of Joel Hawley, who was born in Connecticut,
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and settled in Warren county, Ohio, where he lived until his death. Albert Hawley was twenty years of age when he came to Preble county. Here he married Maria E. Watts, and lived in this county the remainder of his life. He was a graduate of the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and located at Gettysburg, Preble county, Ohio, where he practiced medicine for fifty years. He had two brothers, Dr. Andrew and Dr. Franklin Hawley, who also were physicians and surgeons in Preble county. Dr. Albert Hawley was one of the pioneer physicians and rode a horse on trips to his patients in the early years of his practice. He began the practice of his profession about 1842, and was successful from the beginning. Dr. Albert Hawley was born in January, 1822, and died on October 15, 1913. His wife, who was born in 1833, died in 1891. Dr. Albert Hawley and wife were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living: Dr. C. A., the immediate subject of this sketch; Mary E., the wife of B. F. Werley, of this county, and William A., a farmer of Jefferson township. Harvey A. C. Hawley died in 1890 and James G. Hawley died in 1914.
Doctor Hawley was reared in the village of Gettysburg, Jefferson town- ship, and received his early education in the district schools. He afterwards attended the normal school at Ada, Ohio, and became a teacher in Preble county. He taught ten terms in the district schools. Subsequently he entered the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and beginning this course in the fall of 1888, he earned the money with which to defray his expenses, and was graduated with the class of 1891, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He immediately began the active practice of his profession at Gettysburg, this county, and continued in the practice there until 1903, when he moved to New Paris, where he has since been actively engaged in the medical practice.
Doctor Hawley was first married to Carrie J. Spacht, who was born and reared in Preble county, and to this union was born one daughter, Hazel, who was graduated from the New Paris high school and attended Oxford Seminary for one year. She is the wife of Albert J. Hawley, and lives in this county. Subsequently Doctor Hawley married Lizzie P. Reid, and to this marriage three children have been born: Albert R., a graduate of the New Paris High School and of the Richmond Business College; Ger- trude, a graduate of the New Paris High School, who also spent one year at Earlham College, where she was devoted to the study of music, and Scott A., a student in the public schools of New Paris.
Doctor Hawley has other interests besides his profession. His son, Scott, is an extensive breeder of Silver-laced Wyandotte chickens, as well
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as Rose-comb Black Minorcas, and has won many prizes at county fairs and poultry shows for his fine birds.
Doctor Hawley is a member of the Preble County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. For a number of years he served as secretary of the Preble County Medical Society. He is. medical examiner, for the New York Life Insurance Com- pany; for the Cincinnati Mutual Life Insurance Company, and for the Mod- ern Woodmen of America. Fraternally, Doctor Hawley is a member of Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias, at New Paris, and New Paris Lodge No. 304, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as of the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is a Republican and served as county coroner of Preble county for two terms, a period of eight years, a position which he filled with painstaking efficiency. Doctor Hawley is at the present time both township and city health officer. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a member of the official board of the local congregation at New Paris. Not only has Doctor Hawley prospered in a professional way, but he has been enabled to acquire and accumulate a substantial competence. He is a rather heavy stockholder in the First Na- tional Bank of New Paris and for the past six years has been president of this bank, and has other property interests. He is a man well known among men and popular with all classes. From his boyhood days Doctor Hawley has been able to draw to him scores of admirers, who are attached to him because of his genial personality and his upright, honorable life.
BENJAMIN F. EARHART.
The careers of self-made and successful men abound in lessons from which those of the rising generation can well take a large degree of profit. It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of a review such as this a man who has led an active and eminently useful life and who has, through his own individual exertions, reached a position of honor in the calling with which his interests are closely allied. However, biography finds justification in the tracing and recording of the salient facts of such a life history, inasmuch as the public claims a certain proprietary interest in the career of every individual and the time invariably arrives when it becomes proper to give such a career the proper publicity. It is a matter of consider- able pleasure to inscribe the biography of Benjamin F. Earhart, a prominent farmer of Preble county, Ohio, who, from a humble beginning, has risen
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MR. AND MRS. BENJAMIN E. EARHART.
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to achievements which are remarkable. From a young man with no capital other than industry and thrift he has risen to the ownership of a great farm and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors at his home, which he has ap- propriately named "Fair Acres."
Benjamin F. Earhart was born in Butler county, Ohio, August 21, 1863, a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Search) Earhart, the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Ohio. The elder Benjamin Earhart was a shoemaker by trade and moved to Butler county, Ohio, when he was a boy. He followed his trade of shoemaking for a time, but later took up farming, a calling in which he was engaged until the time of his death, which occurred about 1907. His wife died in 1905.
To Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Earhart, Sr., thirteen children were born, six of whom died in childhood. The seven who are living are: H. S. Ear- hart, who lives in Oxford, Butler county, Ohio; Mary, the wife of William Booth, living in Rush county, Indiana; Laura, the wife of Aaron Ridenour, who lives in College Corners, Butler county; Catherine, the wife of Isaac Smith, who lives in Union county, Indiana; Emma, the widow of James Shera, who died a number of years ago; Mrs. Shera now lives at College Corners; Benjamin F. is the subject of this sketch; Rosa is the wife of William Falk, and lives in Butler county.
Benjamin F. Earhart received a common-school education and afterward took up the calling of agriculture. On February 11, 1886, he married Bertha L. Kendall, a daughter of Richard and Mary E. (Creager) Kendall, both of whom were natives of Butler county, Ohio. Mr. Kendall was a carpenter, a vocation which he followed throughout his life. He died about 1911. Mrs. Kendall makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Earhart.
Seven children, all of whom are living, have been born to Benjamin and Bertha L. (Kendall) Earhart, as follow : Elsie, the wife of Fred Bishop, of Bradford, Ohio; Grace, the wife of Murray Bake, now living at College Corners, where Mr. Bake conducts a general store; William and Emma, twins, living at home; Murray, who is attending high school at College Cor- ners; Mabel, who is attending high school at College Corners, and Gladys, who is still attending the district school.
Mr. Earhart commenced his career by working "on thirds" and operated a farm under that system for a year. He then rented a farm, which he occupied for a period of six years. By that time he had succeeded in saving sufficient money to enable him to become a landholder in his own right. His first farm was one of eighty acres, to which he later added another farm of eighty acres adjoining, and later still, another, also of eighty acres, thus
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gaining a farm of two hundred and forty acres of fine Preble county land. He improved the farm and built a modern house on it, also building a fine barn.
In 1913 Mr. Earhart bought one hundred acres of well-improved land near Morning Sun, and in August, 1914, he bought one hundred and sixty- five acres of improved farm land in section 32, the last farm bearing the name of "Maple Row." Mr. Earhart operates his farms in conjunction and specializes in raising high-grade live stock. He also carries on an extensive "feeding" business, purchasing cattle in car-load lots and feeding them, and later shipping them to the markets and packing houses. His home farm, know as "Fair Acres," is situated in section 30, about two and one-half miles northeast of College Corners, Preble county. This farm is kept in a high state of cultivation and improvement and is ranked among the best farms of Preble county.
Mr. Earhart is a supporter of the Democratic party and has been active in the political affairs of his township and county. He is now serving as township trustee of Israel township and is conducting the affairs of his office with great success. Mr. Earhart and the members of his family are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church and are active in all church affairs.
Mr. Earhart has attained to a prominent place as a farmer and public- spirited citizen of the county, largely because he has never neglected an op- portunity to identify himself with all those influences which tend to make a better community. His interest in public affairs and the honest methods which he has always pursued have naturally won for him the esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
EVERETT O. REID.
An enumeration of those men of the past generation who have won recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the locality to which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of Everett O. Reid, a farmer living on Rural Route No. I, out of New Paris, Ohio. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful farmers of Preble county have also won for him the esteem of his fellow citizens. His career has been one of well-directed effort, of strong determination and honorable methods.
Everett O. Reid was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio,
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July 1, 1885, the son of Addie L. and Jennie ( Roberts) Reid, the former of whom is a native of Preble county, born in March, 1852, and the latter a native of Wayne county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Addie L. Reid are living retired at Richmond, Indiana. They are the parents of three children : Goldie, the wife of Albert Daugherty; William, a resident of Richmond, Indiana, and Everett, O., with whom this narrative deals.
Everett O. Reid was reared on a farm in Jefferson township, this county, and was educated in the school of district No. 3, of that township. He was a student for one term at the New Paris high school. After his marriage Mr. Reid settled down to farming and has made a remarkable success in this vocation. He is an extensive breeder of thoroughbred Duroc- Jersey hogs and good grades of all other kinds of stock. Mr. Reid has re- ceived many premiums upon his Percheron horses. He farms two hundred and forty acres of land in Preble county, and owns a home in Richmond, Indiana.
On November 17, 1905, Everett O. Reid was married to Susan Wesler, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, and who attended the district schools of that county. To this union have been born three children: Olive, born in August, 1906; Laurene, born in October, 1907, and Ralph, born in January, 1909.
Mr. and Mrs. Reid are active members of the United Brethren church at Pleasant Hill, and the family are also active in the Sunday school. Mr. Reid is one of the leading members of the Whitewater Valley Grange. He is a progressive, up-to-date farmer and an honorable citizen, who is respected by his neighbors and honored by all who know him.
WILLIAM GEEDING.
William Geeding, a farmer and thresherman of Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, is a native-born Buckeye and justly deserves the title of self-made man, having worked his way unaided to an honorable position among the citizens of his community. No man in Jackson township enjoys a higher degree of genuine esteem and confidence than Mr. Geeding.
William Geeding was born in Gratis township, Preble county, Ohio, November 22, 1870, the son of Jacob and Catherine (Glaze) Geeding, who were married on October 3, 1868. His father was born in Montgomery county, this state, and his mother was born on July 2, 1852, in this county,
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the daughter of John and Sarah Glaze. Jacob Geeding enlisted in an Ohio volunteer regiment and served one hundred days during the Civil War. He and his wife were the parents of two sons, William, who is the subject of this sketch, and Ervin, who married Cora Furry and lives in Gratis town- ship, this county.
William Geeding was reared on a farm in Gratis township and lived there until the spring of 1901, in which year he moved to Dixon township. In 1905 he moved to Jackson township and in 1908 bought sixty-five acres one mile south of Campbellstown. For the past nine years he has been a farmer and thresherman. In 1915 Mr. Geeding purchased a farm of sev- enty-two and one-half acres lying just west of his residence.
Mr. Geeding was married December 6, 1893, to Cora Nicodemus, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, and to this union three children were born: Charles E., who is a graduate of the Jackson township high school and still at home; Orpha, who also is a graduate of the Jackson township high school, and Roy, born in February, 1901, who is now a student in the common schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Geeding are members of the Christian church and active in the work of this denomination. Mr. Geeding also is a member of the detective association of Jackson township and is an ardent Republican. He has served as constable of Dixon township and performed the duties of that office in a creditable manner.
JOHN M. YOST.
To the wanderer in a strange region the word "home" has a great at- traction. Home is undoubtedly the dearest place on earth to men. Those men who love and respect their homes are likely to be the best citizens. Be- ing kind husbands and fathers, they realize that any influence harmful to the community is harmful to that unit of society, the home.
A home-lover and a public-spirited man is John M. Yost, who was born in Lanier township, Preble county, November 26, 1877, the son of Enoch W. and Anna ( Bursher) Yost, who were the parents also of Albert Yost, a successful farmer of Washington township, and Everett, a common- school graduate and also a farmer of Washington township.
Enoch W. Yost was born in this county on January 1, 1844, and died March 3, 1902. His widow still lives, residing in Eaton. E. W. Yost was
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the son of John and Mary ( Rinehart) Yost, the former of whom was the son of John Yost, who was born in Virginia and came to Preble county when a young man, spending the rest of his life on a farm south of Eaton. John M. Yost's father and grandfather were reared in Preble county.
The youth of John M. Yost was spent on the home farm in Washing- ton township. During the winter months he attended the public schools and was graduated from the Eaton high school when he was nineteen years of age. Then he began teaching in the Eaton schools and was principal of one school for twelve years. In the spring of 1914 he resigned, because of eye trouble, and moved on to his farm in Dixon township, where he now lives.
A specialist in the breeding of Jersey cattle, Mr. Yost has a splendid herd of these cattle, the herd being headed by the high-grade "Fancy's Owl."
On August 2, 1906, Mr. Yost married Ada Brower, the daughter of S. A. and Emma Brower, the former of whom died in 1901. Ada (Brow- er) Yost received a common school education, which she has supplemented by individual study and observation. To the union of Mr. Yost and Ada Brower one child has been born, James K., born on August 19, 1908.
Mr. Yost is a Democrat, but he is not an office seeker, and has never held office. He is a quiet, unassuming man and an honorable citizen, who holds the welfare of his county, state and nation close to his heart.
SAMUEL M. PAXTON.
Many of the families of Preble county, Ohio, have descended directly from antecedents who were prominent, or who, at least, were citizens of this county, during the days when the foundations of the nation were being laid. It is far from uncommon in this county to find residents whose ances- tors were pioneers in one or another of the original thirteen states. Of these, Samuel M. Paxton, of Israel township, Preble county, is an excellent example, his ancestors, no farther back than his grandfather, having been pioneers of the Old Dominion state, and having migrated by stages of vary- ing length until the Paxton family now finds itself solidly represented among the leading citizens of Preble county.
Samuel M. Paxton was born in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, July 29, 1861, a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth ( McQueston) Paxton. Jon- athan Paxton, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Jonathan Paxton, Sr., who was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in
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1778. His wife, Agnes (Gilmore) Paxton, was also born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, the year of her birth having been 1783. Both Jonathan Paxton, Sr., and his wife died in the year 1852. In 1817 Jonathan Paxton, Sr., and his wife migrated to Franklin county, Ohio, and, in the following year, to Preble county, where they settled in section 20 of Israel township, at which point they spent the remainder of their days. They had seventeen children, all of whom lived to become parents of families.
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