USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 72
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Logan R. Pryor was reared in Eaton and attended the public schools. When seventeen he began working in a drug store and later in a drug store in Hamilton. He studied medicine during this time and was graduated from the Pulte Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1896, being among those who secured honorable mention in his class. He began practicing in Eaton and has practiced here ever since.
Doctor Pryor was married, July 29, 1896, to Dora Belle Blackford, the daughter of Henry C. and Mary (Wright) Blackford. One son has been born to this union, William Bryon, born August 11, 1897.
Mrs. Pryor is a member of the Universalist church. She was born near Camden, Preble county, November 11, 1876, her parents also being natives of Preble county. Her father was a produce and coal dealer and followed various other pursuits. He now lives at Van Wert and is a trav- eling merchant tailor. Her mother died in 1885 at the age of thirty-four. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Pryor were Ephriam and Mary (Enos) Blackford, natives of Ohio and early settlers in Preble county. They died here at an old age. They had the following children: William, Henry, Sarah Skiles and Laura Hamlyn. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Pryor were Samuel and Margaret Wright, natives of Ohio and early set- tlers in Preble county, where they died well advanced in years. They reared a large family of children: Edward, William, James, Benjamin, Mary, Sal- lie Wilkinson, Anna Girton and Jane Brubaker.
Politically, Doctor Pryor is a Democrat. Fraternally, he is a member of Bolivar Lodge No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons, and Eaton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons. He also belongs to the Ohio Homeopathic State Medical Society and to the Miami Homeopathic Medical Society at Dayton, Ohio. Doctor Pryor enjoys a large practice and is sincerely de- voted to the school of medicine in which he was trained. He is deeply in- terested in all civic enterprises and is a highly respected citizen, aside from his professional standing.
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GEORGE E. BEARD.
Many men have contributed to the agricultural prosperity of Preble county and of Monroe township. This garden spot is one of the best-known agricultural sections in Preble county, and George E. Beard, a retired farmer of Eldorado, of rather large business interests, has contributed largely to this prosperity. He is a well-known and respected citizen of Mon- roe township and has a record of honorable and upright dealings through- out a long life, in consequence of which he is eminently deserving of the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors and friends in Monroe town- ship and Preble county.
George E. Beard was born November 13, 1863, in Monroe township, a son of Jacob and Mary E. (Byers) Beard, both of whom were born near Williamsport, Maryland. They were married in their native state and came to Preble county in 1853, locating in Manchester, where they rented land for a short time. Later Mr. Beard purchased a farm in Monroe township, where he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Beard were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom are living. One died in infancy and David died in 1914. The others are: J. Q., who is a re- tired farmer of Eldorado; Nelson, of Dayton, Ohio; William H., of Day- ton, Ohio; J. D., also a resident of Dayton; Martha, the wife of Isaac Mil- ler; Mollie, a resident of Westerville, Ohio; Emma, the wife of Walter A. Eby, of Eldorado; George E., the subject of this sketch; Frank, a farm- er of Monroe township; and M. L., the city editor of the News, at Dayton, Ohio.
George E. Beard was reared on the old home farm, which he now owns. He received his education in the common schools, principally at dis- trict No. 2, in Monroe township, which he attended until about twenty years of age, and remained at home until he was twenty-eight years old.
In 1892 Mr. Beard was married to Lottie Gilfillam, to which union three children were born, only one of whom is now living, Hazel, who is a student in the Westerville (Ohio) schools. Mrs. Beard died on September 30. 1906, and in 1909 Mr. Beard married, secondly, Etta Brockford, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Guid) Brockford, of West Manches- ter, both of whom were natives of Preble county and both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Beard was educated in the West Manchester high school.
George E. Beard owns eighty acres in Monroe township, Preble coun-
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ty, and eighty acres in Darke county. He is one of the directors of the Farmers Banking Company of Eldorado and owns ten acres of land and a beautiful residence in Eldorado, seven acres being outside the corporation and three inside.
Mrs. Beard is a member of the Christian church at West Manchester. Mr. Beard is a member of Eldorado Lodge No. 389, Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Beard is a member of the Crescent Lodge No. 353, Daughters of Re- bekah, and is a past grand of that lodge. Mr. Beard is a past chancellor in the Knights of Pythias. He is a Democrat and has taken a more or less active interest in local politics, having served as a councilman in Eldorado. Mr. and Mrs. Beard are well known and regarded as excellent citizens, not only in Eldorado and Monroe township, but also throughout Preble county.
THOMAS RULE.
Those who faced every danger, and death itself, upon the battlefields of the Civil War and bore sufferings and made sacrifices for their country's sake, are especially deserving of mention in these annals. The younger generation should never forget that to the men who upheld the nation's standards in the dark days of the sixties is due a debt of gratitude which can never be paid, as the prosperity, liberty and happiness which we now enjoy are the direct outcome of their labors and loyalty. Among the hon- ored veterans who answered the roll call of 1861 is Thomas Rule, a retired farmer and respected citizen of Eldorado, Ohio. Mr. Rule was not only in many desperate battles of this memorable war, but suffered the horrors of the southern prisons as well as almost mortal injury.
Thomas Rule was born in Darke county, Ohio, December 19, 1840, the son of Lewis and Mary (Marshall) Rule, both of whom were born in Maryland. They grew up and married there, coming to Ohio at a very early day, settling in Darke county at a time when that region was practi- cally a wilderness, and there they spent the remainder of their lives. Lewis Rule was a successful farmer. He attended the Universalist church and was identified with the Democratic party. He and his wife were the par- ents of six children : Susan, who married John Alber and is now deceased; William, George, Mary and Catherine, all deceased, and Thomas.
Thomas Rule, the only living member of the family, was reared on the home farm in Darke county and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and
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Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in August, 1862, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, being connected with the Third Corps. After the battle of Gettysburg, he was transferred to the Sixth Army Corps, where he remained until the close of the war. Mr. Rule was wounded at Stephens Depot, June 15, 1863, being shot through the lung, and was taken prisoner to Belle Isle, Richmond, Virginia, where he was fifty days without any med- ical aid, except that which was given by his comrades. Mr. Rule was then exchanged and returned to the ranks of the army before his wounds were healed.
After the war he returned to Darke county, Ohio, but in 1867 moved to Preble county, where he bought a farm of eighty acres in Monroe town- ship. He farmed this place for many years and eventually was able to pay off the heavy debt which he had incurred when the farm was purchased.
On December 27, 1866, Thomas Rule married Susan M. Somsel, who was born and reared in this county. To this union was born one child, Hat- tie R., the widow of Charles Biddle, who lives in Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Rule died on February 5, 1895, and Mr. Rule married, secondly, August 28, 1901, Mary Strickler, who was born at Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. Rule is a devoted member of the Universalist church. Until re- cently he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and had served as senior vice-commander. He is a member of the Protective Association and in politics is an ardent Democrat. Mr. Rule moved to Eldorado in February, 1910, and is now living retired. He is a man who is well known in Monroe township, and besides his splendid war record, has an honorable record as a private citizen.
JOHN F. ERVIN.
Among the worthy citizens of Eldorado, Ohio, whose residence has contributed in no small degree to the well-being and happiness of the people of that town is John F. Ervin, a retired contractor and a justice of the peace. Mr. Ervin would be the last man to become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless, his life presents incidents that are interesting and valuable and which may be studied with profit by the young men whose careers are yet to be made. In every way Mr. Ervin is deserving of the confidence which has been placed in him by his neighbors, and is worthy of the high esteem in which they hold him.
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John F. Ervin was born on December 17, 1842,, in Highland county, Ohio, the son of Peyton and Margaret (Young) Ervin. Peyton Ervin was born in Augusta county, Virginia, and migrated with his parents to Highland county, Ohio. His wife also was a native of Virginia, who moved with her parents to Wayne county, Indiana, where Mr. and Mrs. Ervin were married, immediately after which they came to Preble county, locating one and one-half miles northeast of New Paris on a farm which Harry W. Bragg now owns. Peyton Ervin lived there until 1860, in which year he moved to Jefferson township, where he spent the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of four children: John F., the subject of this sketch; Thomas N., who served one hundred days in the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and is now deceased; James H., of Jefferson township, and Harriett J., the wife of Raper Christman, of Washington township, this county.
John F. Ervin spent his boyhood days on the farm in Jefferson town- ship, where he attended school. He enlisted in Company C, Fiftieth Regi- ment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in August, 1862, and was assigned to the Twenty-third Army Corps. He was wounded at Peach Tree creek, Geor- gia, July 20, 1864, and this wound disabled him until December 15, 1864. On that date he re-entered the service and served until the close of the war. He was at the famous battle of Nashville. After the war Mr. Ervin re- turned to the old homestead.
John F. Ervin was married to Sarah F. Murray, the daughter of Mitchell A. and Lydia (Brasier) Murray, to which union two sons and a daughter were born: William A., who is a resident of Eldorado, married Myrtle Barr; Minnie M., who is the wife of William . A. McClure, and Plennie F., who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1906, and Mr. Ervin married, secondly, Mrs. Sarah M. Jones, who was born in West Virginia, October 19. 1855. Her first husband, Henry Jones, died in 1904. She had two children by her first marriage, one of whom is living, Maude, the wife of Isaac Hanes, of Dayton, Ohio.
Mr. Ervin is a Republican and has served his community efficiently for some time as justice of the peace. He also is a notary public and has served as township clerk. He served six years on the county soldiers' relief com- mission. In all of these positions Mr. Ervin has proved eminently able to discharge the duties imposed upon him. He is a member of Judy Shew- mon Post No. 747, Grand Army of the Republic, and is a past commander of the same. He also is a member of Fort Black Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Madison.
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Mrs. Ervin is a devoted member of the Christian church. Mr. and Mrs. Ervin are both highly respected in the community in which they live and eminently deserve the high regard in which they are held by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
JACOB Q. BEARD.
It is an axiom demonstrated by human experience that industry is the key to prosperity. Success comes not to him who idly waits for fortune's favors, but to the faithful toiler who, with cheerful celerity and patient vig- ilance, takes advantage of every circumstance that will promote his inter- ests. Such a man is Jacob Q. Beard, a retired farmer and a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Eldorado, Ohio. Mr. Beard always has been a man of strictly honest business principles, patient industry and pleasant, agreeable disposition.
Jacob Q. Beard was born in Washington county, Maryland, December 30, 1845, the son of Jacob and Mary E. (Byers) Beard, both natives of Washington county, Maryland, who were reared in that county and mar- ried there. Some time after their marriage they came to Preble county, Ohio, arriving here on April 1, 1855. Jacob Beard rented land until 1861, when he purchased eighty acres in Monroe township, about fifteen acres of which was cleared. Mr. Beard erected buildings on this farm and here spent the rest of his life. He died on August 29, 1889, and his wife died in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Beard were members of the Lutheran church. They had six children when they came to Preble county, and six children were born after their arrival here. The living children are: Jacob Q., the subject of this sketch; Nelson, of Dayton, Ohio; W. H., of Dayton, Ohio; J. D., also of Dayton, Ohio; M. L., the city editor of the Dayton News; Martha, the wife of Isaac Miller; Catherine, the wife of W. C. Coblentz, and Emma, the wife of Warren Eby. Two of the deceased children are David, who died on April 10, 1914, and Alvin V., who died at the age of two years.
Jacob Q. Beard was ten years old when he was brought to Preble county. He had attended school in Maryland and continued his schooling in Preble county. He quit school at the age of sixteen and then began to help clear and improve the old farm. He remained at home until he had almost reached his majority and then began working for himself. He
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worked cutting wood for the railroad and saved some money out of his earnings. Later he engaged in raising tobacco.
On December 25, 1873, Mr. Beard was married to Mrs. Jennie (Fudge) Hoover, the daughter of George and Mary (Disher) Fudge, and then went to farming in Monroe township, where he bought ten acres. He gradually added to this farm until he now owns one hundred and forty-one and one- third acres, all in Monroe township. Mrs. Beard received twenty-seven hundred dollars by inheritance, and, with this exception, Mr. and Mrs. Beard together have made the remainder of their present fortune.
To Jacob Q. and Jennie (Fudge) Beard were born two children: Oma, the wife of W. B. Rautsaw, who lives in Monroe township and has one daughter, Dorothy, who was born April 15, 1907, and Tebe, born in 1884, who married Pearl Boadstock and lives in Monroe township. By her first marriage, Mrs. Beard had one son, David Hoover, who now resides in Monroe township.
Politically, Mr. Beard is a Democrat, although he has never been espe- cially active in political affairs. Mrs. Beard is a member of the Universal- ist church. They are quiet, unassuming people and popular in Eldorado, where they have a comfortable home.
JOSEPH E. CONGER.
Among the citizens of Preble county who are constantly working for the county's advancement along social and financial lines is Joseph E. Con- ger, a prominent agriculturist and vice-president of the Dixon township board of education. Mr. Conger is the type of man who, fully aware of the advantages accruing to the progressive and enlightened community, does all in his power to further those agencies which make for progress.
The great-grandfather of Mr. Conger was Josiah Conger, who was born in North Carolina on July 28, 1780, and who married Catharine Run- yon, of Barren county, Kentucky, in 1808, coming to Preble county in 1810. They were the parents of eleven children: Nancy, Aaron R., Moses, Anna, Sarah, John N., Mary R., Eli, Elizabeth M., William A. and Evaline. Of these children, Aaron R. married Ruth Marshall, and the children born to the union were Marshall A., Thomas M., John N., Wheeler M., Francis R. and Anna. Of these, John N. married Louisa Kenney, their children being Mary L. and Albert R., both deceased. Carrie L. married E. G. Harris
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and lives in Eaton, Ohio. Joseph E. is the subject of this sketch. Herbert A. married Lucy Parker, and, some time after her death, he married Ma- rianda Smith. Catherine A. married E. M. Shaffer, and, after his death, was married to Waller L. Reed. One child died in infancy. Bertie A. is the wife of Claude Kennedy.
Joseph E. Conger was reared on the farm in Dixon township, and ob- tained a practical education in the district school. He lived on the home place to the age of thirty, and, immediately after marriage, began house- keeping on the farm where he now lives.
On March 28, 1900, Mr. Conger married Margaret C. Bussard, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, on March 6, 1868, the daughter of Samuel M. and Hannah (Toms) Bussard, both of whom died when Margaret was twelve years old. Margaret was reared in Maryland, where she lived until she was twenty. To the union of Mr. Conger and Margaret Bussard was born one child, Edna L., on December 25, 1905.
The Methodist Evangelical church at Sugar Valley counts Mrs. Con- ger as one of its most valuable members. In politics, Mr. Conger is a Re- publican, and he is a member of the Farmers' Protective Association. Mr. Conger is a successful farmer, as he does his work intelligently and is ever open to suggestion or information as to better methods. Firm in his in- tegrity and sincerely striving for the betterment of those around him, he is highly esteemed by those who know him, while he is universally respected.
CHRISTOPHER WAIR.
Christopher Wair is one of those strong, self-reliant and determined characters who are occasionally met with and who are such a distinct type as to be the free-born leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr. Wair courts that distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his great force of character, his zeal and his energy in whatever he undertakes, naturally place him at the head of the crowd. He has been a potent factor in the develop- ment of Preble county, Ohio, where he has lived all of his life and where he is known to all classes of people for his honorable and industrious life, both private and public.
Christopher Wair, a former commissioner of Preble county, Ohio, liv- ing on route No. 8, out of Kitchel, Indiana, was born in Dixon township. Preble county, Ohio, February 5. 1859, and is a son of James and Hannah
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(Somers) Wair. James Wair was born in Ireland in 1832, and came to the United States, landing at New Orleans, from which place he came to Preble county. He lived in this county the remainder of his life, his death occur- ring in 1906. His wife, Anna Somers, was also a native of Ireland, and came to the United States early in life, locating in Preble county, Ohio. She died in August, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. James Wair were the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living: Julia, the wife of John Mullin, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio; Christopher, the immediate subject of this sketch; Arthur, who lives in the west; John, who died in 1899, at Elkhart, Indiana; James, ex-superintendent of the Preble county infirmary, lives in Eaton; Thomas, of Cincinnati; Martha, wife of Elmer Smith, of Eaton, Ohio; Richard, of Cincinnati; Raymond, of Eaton, and William, of Eaton.
Christopher Wair was reared on his father's farm in Dixon township and was educated in the public schools of his home neighborhood. He be- gan working for himself on a farm by the month at an early age. When he was married he was a poor man, renting land for seven years, and then bought sixty-seven acres, where he now lives. Mr. Wair later bought one hundred and sixty acres across the road from where he resides and is now the owner of two hundred and twenty-seven acres of good farming land, all of which he has made by his own unaided efforts. He always keeps a good grade of live stock and has made a specialty of hog raising. He has been a bridge contractor, in addition to farming, for the past twenty-four years, and for a time was engaged in manufacturing hard lumber. He was en- gaged in this business for seven years and was very successful.
Christopher Wair was married, August 30, 1887, to Margaret Shelley, who is a daughter of James and Mary ( Monohon) Shelley, both of whom were natives of Ireland, but who were married in Newport, Kentucky. From Kentucky they came to Darke county, Ohio, where they lived the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1882, while his widow survived him until January 26, 1885. They were the parents of three children: John, of Ansonia, Ohio; Mary, the wife of Henry Manix, of Fort Recovery, Ohio, and Margaret, the wife of Mr. Wair.
Christopher Wair and wife are the parents of six children: Mary and Bessie, graduates of the common schools and also of the Fairhaven high school; Leonard, Joseph and Francis are deceased; Andrew, who is the sixth child.
Mr. and Mrs. Wair are devout members of the Catholic church, of Eaton, Ohio. In politics, Mr. Wair is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in local politics. He was appointed a commissioner of
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Preble county, Ohio, in March, 1912, and served until December Ist of the same year. He was nominated for this office again, but was defeated with the rest of his ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Wair are pleasant people to meet. They have reared an interesting family and are honored citizens of Dixon town- ship, where they now reside.
WILLIAM S. PINKERTON.
Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and 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 out-of-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that inde- pendence of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood, and no truer blessing can befall a man than to prove himself a successful farmer. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority of the nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of letters have been either farm- ers or the sons of farmers. It is not a matter to provoke wonder, therefore, when we find a man who has proved himself a successful teacher of the classics and the dead languages and who has so closely applied himself to his pedagogical duties that his health has suffered, turning to the farm with the intention of gaining his livelihood from the soil, as did his father before him and as did, as well, many of the famous figures of ancient history whom he had met in his books.
William S. Pinkerton was born in Dixon township, Preble county, Ohio, November 30, 1866, a son of John R. and Narcissa ( Henry) Pinker- ton. His father, John R. Pinkerton, was born in Preble county in 1830, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pinkerton, both of whom were natives of South Carolina. They migrated to Preble county at an early date in com- pany with great-grandfather John Pinkerton. The latter was a native of Ireland and emigrated to South Carolina in 1791. He was never able, how- ever. to reconcile himself to the institution of slavery and, after having lived in South Carolina for a number of years, he freed his slaves and moved to Preble county, Ohio, settling near Fairhaven, where he spent the remainder of his life. He is buried in Hopewell cemetery, Preble county. Grand- father Thomas Pinkerton passed away in 1873.
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John R. Pinkerton, father of the subject of this sketch, followed the calling of a farmer in Dixon township, where he owned a farm of sixty- three acres. He died on August 12, 1872. Mrs. Pinkerton is still living and makes her home in California with her son, Rev. J. C. Pinkerton.
To Mr. and Mrs. John R. Pinkerton were born seven children, as fol- low: Thomas C., who lives in Johnson county, Kansas; Charles L., who died at the age of thirty-three, at Muncie, Indiana; Margaret, who died in Preble county, at the age of six; Emma H., who is assistant superintendent of the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital at Los Angeles, California; William S., the subject, and his twin brother, Samuel H., who died in Bloomington, In- diana, in 1907, and was buried in the Fairhaven cemetery at Fairhaven, Ohio; and Rev. John Clarence Pinkerton, D. D., who is pastor of the First United Presbyterian church at Los Angeles, California.
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