USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 74
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the prosperous and progressive Gratis township farmer whose nanie is noted above, and the biographer takes pleasure in here preserving for posterity this modest account of his useful though uneventful life.
Charles Shade was born in Boulder county, Colorado, near Longmont, June 18, 1874, the son of Adam and Sarah (Simpson) Shade, the former of whom was born in Baden, Germany, and the latter of whom was born in Preble county, Ohio.
Adam Shade, a native of Germany, who was born April 1, 1843, was a small boy of ten years of age when his parents determined to make for them- selves a new home across the sea, having been attracted to the alluring stories which had come back to the Fatherland regarding the wonderful possibilities held out to persons of their habits of industry and thrift in America. They made a safe passage and, accompanied by their small son, landed on the western shore of the Atlantic, buoyed up by high hopes of the fortune that awaited them over here. Alas, those high hopes were doomed to tragic defeat. About the time they landed a scourge of cholera had broken out and many immigrants of that period fell victims to the dread malady. Among these victims were the parents of Adam Shade. Thus bereft of both of his natural protectors, the child was placed in a children's home and upon reach- ing sturdy youth was "bound out." Upon finishing the term of this enforced apprenticeship, however, he determined to try his fortune farther west and, with this object in view, came to Preble county, Ohio, where he remained for some years with the family of Jacob Stover, for whom he did good service and with whom he found a good home. Here he grew to manhood's estate and felt himself, though an adopted citizen, as much a part of the American state as anyone of native birth and second to none in his ardent love for his adopted country. When the dark hour of this nation's peril came, that solemn and forbidding hour when every man was to be put to the full test of his patriotism, Adam Shade was not found wanting. He was among the first in this county to respond to his country's call to arms and enlisted in the ranks of the Thirteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for service in the great Civil War. In this service he performed the full duty of a soldier, giving four years and six months of his ardent young manhood in assisting in the preservation of the Union which he loved so well and to the cause of freedom, to which he was so warmly devoted.
At the close of this trying service, Adam Shade returned to Preble county and here married Sarah Simpson, one of the belles of the county, who was born in this county August 1. 1847. To the union of Adam and Sarah ( Simpson) Shade four children were born, all of whom are still living, as
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follow : Wilson H., who was born in Preble county, Ohio, June 18, 1872, and who is living with his parents in this county; Charles, the immediate sub- ject of this narrative, who was born in Boulder county, Colorado, June 18, 1874; Royal F., who was born in Boulder county, Colorado, May 21, 1877, and who now is a prosperous farmer living near Gratis, this county; Flor- ence E., who was born in Boulder county, Colorado, November 30, 1881, is the wife of Charles H. Moses and lives at Middletown, Ohio.
Following his marriage, Adam Shade followed farming in Gratis town- ship until the fall of 1872, when, with his wife and their baby son, he went to the then far West, locating in Boulder county, Colorado, where he engaged in farming and where his three other children were born. The Shade family remained in Colorado until the year 1883, when they returned to Ohio, again locating in Preble county, buying a good farm in Gratis township, where Mr. and Mrs. Shade are still living and where they enjoy all the comforts of a very pleasant home as well as the confidence and esteem of a very large circle of admiring friends. Mr. Shade long since gave over the active management of the farm and is living a life of quiet retirement properly becoming an old soldier of his adopted country's wars.
Charles Shade received a common-school education and was brought up by his parents to habits of thrift and industry and to make the most of the advantages which the soil offers to those who will properly cultivate it. On September 11, 1898, he married Lillie Shellman, daughter of William and Mary (Smith) Shellman, the former of whom was born in Preble county, Ohio, December 25, 1849, and the latter of whom was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, February 8, 1854. William Shellman and Mary Smith were married in Montgomery county, in April, 1875, and are the parents of three children, all of whom are living, namely : Willie E. and Lillie E .. twins, born January 30, 1876, the former of whom lives in Camden, Ohio, and the latter of whom is the wife of Mr. Shade, and Anna E .. born May 26, 1886, who also lives in Camden. Mr. and Mrs. Shellman live on a fine farm east of the town of Gratis, in this county, and are very properly regarded as among the most useful and popular persons in that neighborhood.
Following his marriage, Charles Shade rented a farm in Gratis town- ship. on which he remained for about eight years, at the end of which time, in 1907. he bought his present excellent home farm of ninety-two acres in sec- tions 19 and 20, about one mile west of Elkton. Here he carries on general farming and has been quite successful, as is commensurate with the pains- taking efforts he has put forth to bring his place up to a state of cultivation second to that of none of his neighbors. To Mr. and Mrs. Shade there has
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been born one child. a daughter, Clara, born February 21, 1902, who is now in school.
Charles Shade is a Republican and always has taken the proper interest of a good citizen in political affairs. In the local councils of his party his voice always has had its proper weight and he enjoys the entire confidence and respect of the party managers in Preble county. His executive ability and sound business judgment have been recognized by the voters of Gratis township who elected him to the important office of township trustee, in the administration of which office he gave such universal satisfaction that his re- election was a foregone conclusion and he now is serving very acceptably his second term in this office. Mrs. Shade is an earnest member of the United Brethren church and is counted among the most active workers in the congre- gation of that denomination in her neighborhood. She and Mr. Shade are ever to be found among those engaged in good works and rightly enjoy the full respect of the whole township.
GEORGE P. SWOPE.
In making up the annals of a county. the historian who turns his atten- tion to the biographical section of such a work as is contemplated in the com- pilation of the biographies here presented, must be impressed with the truth of the statement that the history of a county depends wholly upon the achieve- ments of the individuals comprising the social units of the organization which comprises a county or a neighborhood. Each, in his place, furnishes his part in the general scheme of things and the omission of any one of these many parts might easily throw the whole wisely-ordered plan out of adjustment. The gentleman whose name introduces this biographical sketch needs but little introduction to the present generation of readers in Preble county, but. out of consideration as to the accuracy of history and that posterity may know something of his life and of his work, the biographer here presents this brief review of the life work of one of Gratis township's best known and most deservedly popular citizens.
George P. Swope was born in Ross township, Butler county, Ohio. January 10, 1861. about the time this nation was awakening to the realization that a terrible war was about to be fastened upon the people. He is the son of George Jacob and Margaret (Curby) Swope, the former of whom was a native of Germany who came with his parents to this country when a lad of
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fourteen years and settled on a farm in Butler county, Ohio, where George Jacob grew to manhood and where he was married. To this union there were born eight children, as follow : Mary ; John, deceased; Susan, deceased ; Jane, the wife of J. S. Inman, who lives near Somerville, in Butler county, Ohio; David, who lives in Darke county, Ohio; Martha, who married Martin Weaver and lives in Butler county; Jacob, who lives in Butler county, and George P., whose name heads this review. George Jacob Swope was a farmer and followed that important vocation all his life, his death occurring in 1886; his wife long preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred in 1864.
George P. Swope received a good education in the schools of his home neighborhood and followed his father's footsteps as a farmer until the year 1898, when he bought a meat market in West Elkton, which he conducted quite successfully for a period of thirteen years. At the end of that time he went into the grocery business, which line of commerce he followed for about three years, at the end of which time he was appointed to the important posi- tion of head of the county department of sealing for Preble county. This necessitated his removal to the county seat and he lived at Eaton for one year, at the end of which time he moved back to West Elkton, which ever since he has made his home and where he very properly is regarded as among the most influential citizens of the pretty village.
On January 10, 1883, George P. Swope was united in marriage with Ella Wood, to which union there was born but one child, a son, John F., born November 16, 1895. John F. Swope is a builder of cement silos and lives in West Elkton. His mother died April 30, 1910. She was a daughter of George and Caroline Wood, the former of whom was a native of Scotland and the latter of whom was born in Pennsylvania. George Wood was a cooper, though during the latter part of his life he followed the vocation of farming. He died in 1905. his wife predeceasing him in October. 1896.
George P. Swope married, secondly, on July 26, 1911, Blanche Leslie, daughter of John and Rachel ( Bratton) Leslie, both of whom are natives of Preble county. John Leslie was born in Gratis township, November 28. 1851, a son of David and Elizabeth ( Kerns) Leslie, the former of whom was born in Gratis township in 1812, the son of John Leslie, who was born in Virginia and who was the first white man to settle in Preble county, away back in the year 1803. John Leslie married Rachael Bratton, January II, 1878, and to them four children were born, all of whom are living. as follow : Frank, a well known farmer of Gratis township : Blanche, wife of Mr. Swope; Carl, who lives with his parents in Gratis township, and Omar, who also re-
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mains at home. Mr. Leslie owns a well-improved farm of seventy-five acres north of West Elkton, and he and his family are held in the highest regard in the neighborhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Swope are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Eaton and are active in all the good works of the community. Mr. Swope is a Democrat and always has proved himself an active participator in the local campaigns of his party, his counsel and advice being considered of value by the leaders of the party in Preble county. He is a member of the Camden Lodge No. 259, Knights of Pythias, and is among the foremost workers of that popular fraternal organization. In all movements having as their object the development of the best interests of his community Mr. Swope is relied upon to lend his support in all proper ways and he is looked upon as one of the leading men of the community.
ROBERT J. BROWN.
Beyond question, no people take a greater interest in the welfare of a community, or are more anxious to uphold its traditions and maintain its high standards than are the descendants of those men and women who so ably molded the life and future of the nation during its earliest days. The pioneers who laid. during the early years of the seventeenth century and even previous to that, the foundations of what were destined to become the mighty chain of Atlantic coast states accomplished results far greater than their wildest dreams had ever pictured. Not only that, but they also left behind them descendants of their own sturdy and conscientious type who were fully qualified in every way to carry on the work which their fathers had begun. Gradually those worthy descendants of the pioneers worked their way into the interior of the country, becoming pioneers themselves, and themselves laying the foundations of what were destined to become states as mighty as those founded by their ancestors. Every section of the country has been fortunate in receiving its quota of the pioneers who de- scended from pioneers, and Preble county can boast of having had as one of its founders during the early years of the nineteenth century a repre- sentative of one of the most solid and substantial pioneer families of both the nation's early and later years. This man was Nathan Brown, a de- scendant of South Carolina pioneers, who settled in Preble county in 1813, and whose grandson, Robert J. Brown, the subject of this sketch, is now living close to the spot where his grandfather first settled in this county.
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Robert J. Brown was born in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, February 18, 1842, the son of James and Elizabeth (Scott) Brown. He was the descendant of a long line of Browns who had for many years more than a century been prominent in shaping the destinies of the country previous to his birth. His great-grandfather was Nathan Brown, who was born in South Carolina in 1731, and who died in that state on June 28, 1779. His wife, the subject's great-grandmother, was Grizzella (Richey) Brown, who was also born in South Carolina, the date of her birth having been 1742, and that of her death, May 30, 1810. Nathan Brown was a farmer who played an important part in the development of South Carolina during its early days.
Nathan Brown, the second, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in South Carolina in 1774, and died on October 5, 1849, in Preble county, Ohio. His wife was born in 1777, and died on April 9, 1813. Na- than Brown moved to Preble county in 1813, and settled on a farm in Israel township, where he lived during the remainder of his life, having been survived by his son, James.
James Brown was born in South Carolina on November 21, 1802, and came to Preble county with his father in 1813. He assisted his father dur- ing the earlier years of his life in building the farm which was the founda- tion of the Brown homestead, and which is still occupied by his son, the subject of this sketch. On January 16, 1828, James Brown married Eliza- beth Scott, who was born on March 20, 1806. They spent their lives on the farm, which James Brown improved to his utmost ability. He died on May 18, 1888, and his wife died on July 7, 1885.
To Mr. and Mrs. James Brown nine children were born, three of whom served in the Union army during the Civil War. The children were William S., who was born on March 11, 1829, and who died in South America; James S., born on November 25, 1830, who died on March 9, 1912. He enlisted in Company A., One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War and served four months, the pe- riod of his enlistment. Mary Rebecca was born on November 7, 1832, and died on February 7, 1889. A child died in infancy. Nathan R., was born on October 7, 1835. He enlisted in Company B, Twentieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at the time when the three months' men were called, and served through the period of his enlistment. He then enlisted for three years in Company D, Forty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, October 3, 1863. Nancy Maria, deceased, was born on July 1, 1838. Robert J. is the subject of this sketch. Eliza-
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beth C. was born on November 1, 1845, and died on August 17, 1850. Clara J. was born on October 7, 1851, and is now living in Morning Sun, Ohio.
Robert J. Brown was born in Israel township, on the farm where he now lives, February 18, 1842. He received his early education in the schools of Israel township and in 1862 was graduated from Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. Shortly afterward he answered the call for volunteers for the Union army and enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for four months, and served the period of his enlistment.
On October 20, 1875, he married Vinolia A. Shaw, a daughter of Robert and Marietta (Robertson) Shaw. Robert Shaw, her father, was born near Washington, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Washington county, Iowa. Mrs. Shaw was born in Preble county, near Fairhaven, Ohio. Later her parents moved to Spring Hill, Indiana, and from there to Washington county, Iowa, where Mr. and Mrs. Shaw were married.
To them were born three children, Vinolia, the wife of the subject of this sketch; David R., whose place of residence is now unknown, and Lloyd S., who died when a child and was buried at Brighton, Iowa. At the time of the Civil War Mr. Shaw enlisted in the Union army and died at Vicks- burg, Mississippi. He was buried in the national cemetery at Vicksburg. Mrs. Shaw died in 1900, and was buried in Hopewell cemetery, Israel town- ship, this county.
After his marriage Robert J. Brown settled on his farm, which is situ- ated about a quarter of a mile east of Morning Sun. To him and Mrs. Brown two children were born, Ethel E., the wife of Roy B. Wright, of Israel township, this county, and Helen S., who died in infancy.
Robert J. Brown owns one hundred and sixty-three acres of fine farm land in section 23 of Israel township, this county. The land has been kept highly improved and now forms one of the best farms in the vicinity. Mr. Brown early improved the house where his father began house-keeping in 1828 and it is now occupied by the tenant who is operating the Brown farm. This same farm has been in the possession of the Brown family since Na- than Brown first moved to Preble county from South Carolina, more than one hundred years ago.
Mr. Brown retired from the active operation of his farm about nine years ago and, since that time he and Mrs. Brown have been living quietly and enjoying the fruits of their long years of effort. They are both mem- bers of the United Presbyterian church and are active in all matters per-
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taining to the church's welfare. Mr. Brown is a supporter of the Repub- lican party, but has never cared to hold public office, nor has he ever actively participated in any political campaign,
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are both held in the highest esteem by their neighbors, being recognized as among the most valued citizens of Preble county. From the days of its earliest history the Brown family has played an important part in the development of the nation, and Robert J. Brown has ably accomplished his part in upholding the traditions of his family. He served the nation as a soldier in time of war and, during the later years of peace, he has served it as faithfully and efficiently as a citizen of the highest type and a living example of what Americans, in the full sense of the word, really are.
JOSEPH POOS.
It is a rare pleasure for the biographer to record the important incidents in the lives of prosperous men who have honored their community and who are loved by their fellow men. The lives of such men inspire the coming generation as they have inspired the present one, and these men eminently deserve the honorable mention made in such a work as this. One of the most influential citizens of Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, is Joseph Poos, who has operated a grain elevator in connection with a coal, cement, lime and sewer-tile yard at that place for many years, and also operates a grocery store.
Joseph Poos was born in Eaton, Ohio, on January 12, 1860, the son of Nicholas and Anna Mary (Becht) Poos, natives of Germany, the former born in Luxemburg, and the latter in Gemersheim. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom lived to maturity; John, of Dayton, Kentucky; George, of Eaton; Joseph, of Eaton; Henry, a farmer living in Gasper town- ship; William, of Eaton, and Frank, who died at the age of eighteen.
Nicholas Poos was reared and educated in Germany, and at the age of twenty-eight came to America, locating first in Dayton, Kentucky, coming, in 1852, to Preble county, Ohio, where he settled in Eaton and worked at his trade of wagon making. In 1871 he bought a farm in Gasper township, and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1898, at the age of seventy-four. His widow survived him until 1902, when her death occurred at the age of seventy-two. Both were devout members of the Catholic church.
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JOSEPH POOS AND FAMILY.
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Joseph Poos was reared in Eaton until eleven years of age, and then removed with the family to the farm, where he attended the district schools of Gasper township, acquiring there the ownership of thirty acres of land. He lived at home until forty-three years of age, at which time he moved to Eaton and engaged in the grocery and feed business, in which he continued until the spring of 1902, when his mother died and he sold out his business in Eaton in order to look after his agricultural interests, having purchased eighty acres more of land in the meantime. He also purchased the home place of one hundred and twenty acres. He traded his first farm when he acquired his present grain and coal business in Eaton. In this latter business he has prospered most gratifyingly, having built up a large and profitable patronage. Mr. Poos owns the old home place in Gasper township. He started the grain elevator April 8, 1912, and since then has added groceries, coal, lime, tile, etc.
On June 30, 1903, Mr. Poos was married to Johanna Maloney, the daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Finn) Maloney, and to this union three children have been born, Joseph, Jr., Helena and Charles. Mrs. Poos was born on April 28, 1875.
Mrs. Poos was born on a farm in Washington township and removed to Eaton with her parents at the age of four years. She was graduated from the Eaton High School in 1892, and began teaching the Eaton schools the following year, which occupation she followed for ten successive years. Her parents were both natives of Ireland and devout members of the Catholic church. Her father is now deceased, while her mother is still living. They were the parents of two children, Mrs. Poos and a sister, who died at the age of four years.
Mr. Poos is an adherent of the Democratic party and has served the public in several official positions, having been a member of the city council of Eaton for one term, discharging his duties in that connection in a manner satisfactory to the people of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Poos are active and devout members of the Catholic church, and contribute in liberal measure to the support of this great faith.
In everything that he has undertaken Mr. Poos has been pre-eminently successful, and while the measure of his personal success has been great, it has not been attained without strict attention to the highest and best principles of business. He is devoted to all enterprises of a public nature, which have to do with the improvement of the moral, religious and civic tone of the com- munity.
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LAWRENCE RINER.
In past years the history of our country was comprised largely of the records and achievements of the pioneers as they made their homes on land wrested from the wilderness, and later fought to gain their independence and to preserve the country intact. Today our history is chiefly made up of the commercial activity of our citizens and comprises a record of those whose names are foremost as leaders in business circles. The conquests now made are those of mind over matter, and the victor is he who can most successfully establish, control and operate commercial interests. Lawrence Riner is one of the men who are playing important parts in the essential his- tory of Preble county, Ohio, today. In his work he has the advantage of having had the guidance and advice of his father, George W. Riner, who has long played, and is still playing a prominent role in Preble county's history. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, genius for devising and executing the right thing in the right place and at the right time are the chief characteristics of both these men, and a history of Preble county would be inconiplete were they not included among those whose records appear in its pages.
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