USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 76
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Mr. Krekler was married for the second time on July 15, 1910, his second wife being Mrs. Helen Somerville, widow of James Lee Somerville, and daughter of former Governor Claude and Martha (Whitcomb) Mat- thews of Indiana. Her father was born in Bath county, Kentucky, and her mother was born in 1847 in the governor's residence in Indianapolis, In- diana, Mrs. Krekler's grandfather. James Whitcomb, having been the gov- ernor of Indiana at that time. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews were married in Ross county, Ohio, and moved to Vermilion county, Indiana, in 1868. Mrs. Krekler's maternal grandfather was the first Democratic governor of In- diana, and her father, Claude Matthews, also a member of the Democratic party, was a governor of that state from 1892 to 1896. Governor Matthews died in 1898 and his wife died in 1912.
Four children were born to ex-Governor and Mrs. Claude Matthews, Mary, now the wife of Dr. Allen Murray, of Clinton, Indiana; Renick S., who died in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of twenty-three; Margaret, who died at the age of fifteen months: and Helen, who was first married to James Somerville, September 27, 1899, and later to Albert Krekler. Two children were born to Mrs. Krekler and her first husband, Martha Whit- comb Somerville, born on April 22, 1901, and Mary Seymour Somerville, born on May 6, 1902. By the present marriage there is one son, Albert, Jr., born on December 15, 1911.
Albert Krekler, after having retired from his mercantile enterprises
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and having taken up the business of farming, specialized in the raising of jacks. From the outset he was successful and early found his original farm of thirty-two acres too small for his growing business. He, therefore, gradually expanded his business and increased his land holdings until he now owns eighteen farms in Ohio and Indiana and has become the largest breeder of jacks in the world. His farms in Ohio are named collectively, carrying the title of "Krekler's Good Luck Stock Farms." Those in Indiana are known as "Krekler's Hazel Bluff Stock'Farms."
Mrs. Albert Krekler is a member of the Presbyterian church and is active in all church affairs conducted by the church which she attends. Mr. Krekler's children are loyal members of the United Brethren church.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Krekler are prominent in the local affairs of their community and are held in high esteem by their neighbors. Mr. Krekler's entire career is thoroughly illustrative of the results to be accomplished through perseverance and thrift. He is in the best sense of the term a self- made man and has worked his way upward step by step from one success to another. His career has never been marred by a failure, but has resulted from a steady and healthy growth from a small beginning to his present extensive interests.
WILLIAM E. VANSKIVER.
How dependent a community is upon its internal commerce. How help- less we should be without the wonderful medium of exchange which has been evolved by man out of the experiences of the ages for the convenient merg- ing of the independent relations of supply and demand. A local com- munity is well judged by the condition of its commercial establishments and it may properly be taken for granted that all is well with that town whose business houses are well ordered, well equipped and well managed, conducted ever with a view to the best and most helpful accommodation of the patrons of the same. The merchants of a city well may be considered its ablest con- servators, for upon them so much depends in the way of keeping the "tone" of the city up to the highest pitch. The city of Camden, Ohio, is fortunate indeed in the possession of an unusually high grade of local merchants, all of whom ever have the best interests of the city at heart. Among these typically representative citizens few are better known and more deservedly popular than the amiable gentleman with whom this biographical sketch is to treat more directly in the succeeding paragraphs, a sketch so well meriting a place in this
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historical work that the biographer takes much pleasure in here presenting it for the consideration of the readers of this volume.
William E. Vanskiver, one of the best-known merchants in Preble county, who is doing a prosperous business in the grocery way in the pleasant little city of Camden, was born on July 29, 1874, on a farm in Israel town- ship, Preble county, Ohio, and represents the third generation of his family in this county. He is the son of William H. and Tamson (Duvall) Van- skiver, both of whom were natives of Preble county and members of old families in this section.
William H. Vanskiver was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Brown) Vanskiver, the former of whom was born in New Jersey in 1805, the son of William and Elizabeth ( Adams) Vanskiver, who migrated with their small family to Ohio in the fall of 1814, first settling in Warren county, where they remained only a year, he coming to Preble county in the fall of 1815, to build a cabin and bringing his family the next spring. Here they entered from the government the east one-half of section 13 in Israel township, which they presently converted into one of the best farms in the county and on which they spent the remainder of their lives, the death of Great-grandfather Van- skiver occurring in 1843 and that of great-grandmother Vanskiver in 1848. This worthy couple easily became identified with the best known and most influential of the settlers of this section in that early day and the influence of their lives and of their works still is impressed upon the community in which they lived lives of such usefulness and where their memories are not forgotten to this day.
Samuel and Elizabeth (Brown) Vanskiver were married in Preble county. where both of them had been born, and to this union were born six children. John B .. Joseph G., Hannah J., Sarah B., Susan E. and William H., all of whom are now dead save the latter. Samuel Vanskiver was one of the best known and most highly honored farmers of Israel township, where he followed farming all his life, being sincerely mourned at his death, which oc- curred in the year 1886. his good wife dying in the year 1880.
William H. Vanskiver, father of the immediate subject of this nar- rative, was married on May 6, 1869, to Tamson Duvall, daughter of Abel and Sarah ( Wilcox) Duvall. the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of whom was born near College Corners, Ohio. Abel Duvall was a carpenter. which occupation he followed all through his life, his death occurring in 1881. His good wife survived him until January 1, 1894, when she too passed away. This excellent couple was held in the highest regard in the community in which they lived and their memories live after them.
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To the union of William H. and Tamson ( Duvall) Vanskiver there was born but one child, a son, William Elmer, whose name heads this genealogical re- view. The elder Mr. and Mrs. Vanskiver still are living on the old Van- skiver homestead in Israel township, where they are regarded as among the most substantial and honored residents of that section. Though still living on the farm Mr. Vanskiver is no longer engaged in the active work of the farm, he having retired in 1908, since which time he merely gives the place his supervisory attention as the need arises.
William Elmer Vanskiver received his education in the excellent district schools of his native township and followed farming on the home place for about seven years, after which he moved to Camden, where for a year he worked for the McChristie Portrait Company. He then worked seven years for the Big Four Tobacco Company and in April, 1908, he bought the Will- iam Garver grocery store, which he has since owned and which he is conduct- ing with much success. He makes a point of keeping his store in strictly up-to-date fashion and consequently enjoys a profitable trade, being ranked well up among the best known and most prosperous merchants of the city.
On December 21, 1894, William E. Vanskiver was united in marriage to Grace Felton, a daughter of Lurton and Catherine ( Moore) Felton, prom- inent residents of Gasper township, this county, and to this union three chil- dren have been born: Fred, born on December 22, 1895, who was graduated from the Camden high school in 1914 and is now the assistant postmaster at Camden; Floyd, born on November 21, 1897, and Darrell, born on June 1, 1906.
Mr. Vanskiver is a Republican and always has taken an active part in the local campaigns of his party, his counsels having no small weight in the deliberations of the party leaders in this county. He was elected treasurer of the city of Camden in 1912 and so acceptable were his services to the public in this connection that he was re-elected and is now serving his second term in that responsible position. He is a member of the Masonic order, his membership being in Camden Lodge No. 159, and he also is a stockholder in the Masonic Temple Association of Camden. In addition to his Masonic affiliations and activities he also is a member of the Knights of Pythias, being attached to Camden Lodge No. 259. in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest. Mr. Vanskiver is an energetic, progressive citizen who is inter- ested in all movements whose objects are the advancement of the welfare of his community and he is counted upon by his fellow citizens whenever any measure of public benefit is being advocated.
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WILLIAM C. FRITZ.
One of the conspicuous names on the list of Preble county farmers is William C. Fritz, farmer and stockman of Twin township, a gentleman of high standing, to whom a full measure of success has not been denied. Long recognized as a factor of importance in connection with the farming and stock-raising industry here, he has been prominently identified with the material growth and prosperity of this part of the state, his life having been closely interwoven with the history of the county where he has spent his entire life.
William C. Fritz, farmer and stockman, was born on June 16, 1852, in Twin township, Preble county, Ohio, the son of John and Elizabeth (Siler) Fritz, who were the parents of five sons and two daughters, the others being Benjamin, Mrs. Sarah A. Wysong and Michael, all of whom now are deceased, and Dr. John H., a physician of West Alexandria, Ohio; George M., of West Alexandria, and Mrs. Lettie Smith, of Clinton county, Ohio.
John Fritz was born in this county in the year 1810, the son of Michael and Nancy (Harris) Fritz, and grew to manhood on the paternal farm, which he later purchased and on which he spent the whole of his life, his death occurring on December 25, 1890. He married Elizabeth Siler, who was born in this county in the year 1824 and who preceded him to the grave in January, 1862.
Michael Fritz, paternal grandfather of William C. Fritz, was born in Freiberg. Germany, in the year 1760 and came to America when sixteen years of age, arriving in Philadelphia in 1776 while the people of that city were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is interesting to note, in passing, in this connection that one hundred years later. July 4, 1876, one hundred voters of the Lewisburg neighborhood, of whom William C. Fritz was one, following the suggestion of Capt. Matthias Disher, each riding a horse, all of these one hundred horses being hitched to one wagon, started from Lewisburg to Eaton to assist in the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. Michael Fritz was a shoemaker and for a time worked at that trade in Philadelphia, but presently made his way to this county, where he entered a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Twin township and on this he spent the rest of his life, being among the most influential and useful members of the new community. At the time Michael Fritz entered
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his farm from the government the Indians still were numerous in that section and often came to his home, where they smoked their pipes in peace. At the age of forty-five Michael Fritz married Nancy Harris, a native of Virginia, whose ancestors had come to this country from Ireland, and to this union there were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom were born and reared on the home farm in Twin township. Michael Frtiz died on March 1, 1845, at the age of eighty-five, after which the farm was divided, the second son of the deceased, John, mentioned in the preceding paragraph, purchasing one-half of it and his sister, Mrs. Catherine Gentner, buying the other half, and on this divided farm their respective families were reared, the portion which John Fritz owned now being owned by his youngest son, George Fritz, and the portion which Mrs. Gentner owned now being owned by her daughter, Mrs. Laura Schreel, Michael Fritz's original farm thus still being held in the family in the third generation.
William C. Fritz's maternal ancestry also is of Germanic origin. In . 1791 or 1792 three Siler brothers came to this country from Germany. One of these, Jacob, who was a schoolmaster, was the father of three sons, Jacob, Matthias and Christopher, and a daughter, all of whom were born in Germany save Christopher, who was born in Lebanon county, Pennsyl- vania, December 26, 1793. Christopher Siler became a lockmaker by trade and served effectively as a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Susan Hoerner, who was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and to this union three children were born, Mrs. Catherine Albert, who died in the year 1913, at the age of ninety-two; George, who is still living, being ( 1915) ninety-two years of age, and Elizabeth, who married John Fritz.
William C. Fritz was reared on the ancestral farm and attended the Hillside district school of Twin township, remaining at home and assisting his father in the labors of the farm until his marriage in 1871, whereupon he moved to the home farm of his father-in-law, Capt. Matthias Disher, where he since has continued to reside with the exception of a few months. In 1879 Captain Disher gave his daughter, Mrs. Fritz, thirty-five acres of the home farm, contingent upon purchase by Mr. Fritz of a strip adjoining, of practically equal extent, which purchase was made, and to which Mr. Fritz later added other adjoining fields until he now has a fine farm of one hundred and seven acres in section II of Twin township, twelve acres of which is covered by a fine growth of natural timber. On this place Mr. Fritz has erected a comfortable house and a commodious barn and has (50) -
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prospered. In addition to his general farming, he devotes considerable at- tention to the raising of Duroc-Jersey hogs and Jersey cattle, having found this phase of agriculture quite profitable.
In the year 1871 William C. Fritz was united in marriage to Susan Disher, daughter of Captain Matthias and Jane (Ozias) Disher, and to this union four children have been born: Edna, deceased; Ozias, who is a teacher in the Lewisburg schools; Frances, who is at home, and Matthias, who is a conductor in the service of the street railway lines at Dayton, Ohio.
Mr. Fritz is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to po- litical affairs, though he is not included in the office-seeking class. He and his family are members of the New Lutheran church, in the various beneficences of which they take an active part. Mr. Fritz is well known throughout the section of the county in which he resides as an enterprising farmer and a kind and considerate neighbor and enjoys the entire confidence and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact.
GEORGE EDWARD SLOVER.
Among the prominent manufacturers of Preble county few are better known than the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical sketch. Among these manufacturers, too, there are few whose products have a wider market or serve a more useful purpose. The proper tillage of the soil is the greatest industry of mankind. Without the work of the farmer civilization would languish and in a single generation we should degenerate from our present proud eminence as a people to the state of the aboriginals who formerly roamed the forests of this now blessed region, dependent wholly upon the fruits of the chase for the preservation of the breath of their bodies. The proper upkeep of the broad acres upon which the food supply of a nation depends is, therefore, the most important task to which man can turn his hand and he who contributes to this essential need properly may be classed among the benefactors of his race. Farming today is not the hap- hazard job it once was. The culture of the soil is being made the special business of many of the most carefully trained scientists in the world and the chemist has taken a well-recognized position as a faithful ally of nature in the preservation of the basic qualities which go to make up a soil ideally adapted for the cultivation of the food-stuffs of a people. Here is where the value of the services which Mr. Slover is rendering his fellowmen become
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apparent. In the establishment and operation of the Edward Slover Fertilizer Company, manufacturers of high standard fertilizers at Camden, Ohio, he is contributing greatly to the support and upbuilding of the basic industry of mankind in providing for the farmers of this district a soil food particularly adapted to the needs of the soil hereabout. As a benefactor, therefore, it is but proper that the biographer here present for the consideration of the reader of this volume a brief sketch of this public-spirited citizen.
George Edward Slover was born at Miamisburg, Ohio, January 4, 1868, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Harres) Slover. Thomas, the son of Jacob Slover, was a native of Pennsylvania who moved with his family to Joliet, Illinois, where his father followed the vocation of stonemason and building contractor. Jacob Slover, who died at the age of fifty-two, was twice married, his first wife leaving two children, Daniel and Thomas. By the second marriage there was one son, Robert.
Thomas Slover, father of the subject of this sketch, learned the black- smith trade and conducted a shop at Miamisburg, Ohio, until the spring of 1879, when the family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he lived a retired life until his death, which occurred in 1912. He was twice married, eight chil- dren being born to his union with Elizabeth Harres, who died at the age of thirty-seven, of whom the only survivor is George Edward, with whom this narrative directly treats. Three of these children died in infancy, the others being Sarah, who died at the age of twenty-six : Robert, who died at the age of forty-nine; Mary, who died at the age of thirty-six, and Addison, who died at the age of thirty-seven. Upon the death of his first wife, Thomas Slover married, secondly, Zarilda Simpson, who following the death of her husband became domiciled in the Methodist Episcopal home at Cincinnati. To this union there was no issue.
George Edward Slover, only surviving issue of Thomas and Elizabeth (Harres) Slover, received his early education in the public schools of Miamis- burg, which he supplemented with a course of four years and six months in the mechanical engineering department of the International Correspondence School at Scranton, Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen he had become at- tracted to the possibilities of mechanics and learned the machinist's trade, qualifying as a journeyman machinist at the age of eighteen, after which he worked in the shops of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad at Day- ton, Ohio, until the spring of 1898. when he went to the James McCallum Fertilizer Company, at Dayton, Ohio, remaining with this firm for seven years-four years and six months as foreman and two years and six months as superintendent. In the year 1905, deciding to enter business for himself,
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he moved to Camden, Ohio, and established the Edward Slover Fertilizer Company, which has grown to be one of the most considerable concerns of its kind in the state. The plant of this concern is situated in Camden, the reduction department of the same, in which George Archer has an interest, being located about one-half mile south of the town. This plant manufac- tures high standard fertilizers and its product is shipped widely to points in Ohio and Indiana. In addition to his business in this connection, Mr. Slover also conducts a correspondence school, in which he has met with much suc- cess. In this school he furnishes instructions covering a complete course in steam engineering, his comprehensive set of books on this subject covering the ground thoroughly.
On June 27, 1893, George Edward Slover was united in marriage to Lillian McCallum, a daughter of James and Angie (Anthony) McCallum, who are now living at Montgomery, Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Slover two daughters have been born, Greta Isle, born on September 12, 1898, a student of the Camden high school, and Dorothy Blanche, born on December 7. 1903, a student in the Camden grade schools. Mr. and Mrs. Slover have a very pleasant home in Camden, the hospitalities of which are delightfully enhanced by the two bright young misses, who so pleasantly assist their mother as hostesses on occasion. The Slovers are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Camden and are active participants in the affairs of the local congregation.
Mr. Slover always has affiliated with the Republican party, in the local councils of which he takes an active part. He is now serving his second term as a member of the board of trustees of the city of Camden and is president of that body. He also was assessor of the city of Camden for one term. He is an active Mason, being a member of Lodge No. 159, Free and Accepted Masons, at Camden and also is affiliated with Chapter No. 22, at Eaton. He also is a member of the Junion Order of United American Mechanics, being associated with Preble Council No. 202, at Camden, in the deliberations of which body he takes an active and influential part.
Mr. Slover is alert in the promotion of the best interests of the com- munity in which his lot has so successfully been cast and in all movements having to do with the advancement of the affairs of his home city, either in a moral, social, civic or industrial way he ever is found among the leaders of the same. He is a fine type of the true American citizen and well deserves the popularity which he enjoys among those with whom he is most closely associated.
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JOHN HENRY LIVINGSTON BOHN.
In the commercial life of a city is there any man more properly entitled to the high and ungrudging respect and consideration of the people than the earnest, conscientious pharmacist? The careful compounding of the various drugs on which ailing mankind relies in his hours of distress is one of the most important tasks to which man can turn his hand, for often the very issues of life and death hang in the balance which might easily be turned in a fatal direction by the ill-considered or careless act of the inexperienced compounder of a prescription, whose properly-mingled elements are designed to provide a healing potion. The importance to a community of the services of a competent and conscientious pharmacist therefore cannot be estimated in ordinary terms and the gratitude with which the people of the community ought to regard such a service ought to be unstinted and ungrudging. There is a veteran pharmacist and druggist in Camden, this county, who, following in the honored footsteps of his father, who before him was a lifelong drug- gist, has all his long life devoted his talents and his most careful thought to the needs of the people in the matter of healing-compounds. A work of this character, dealing as it does with matters both historical and biographical, would not be complete without mention of the manner of the life and the services of Mr. Bohn, the well-known druggist of Camden, and the biographer gladly turns his pen to a considerate review of the life of this agreeable gentle- man and valued citizen.
John Henry Livingston Bohn was born in Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1837, the son of J. H. and Henrietta (George) Bohn, the former of whom was born in Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, and the latter of whom was born in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, in the latter of which places they were married and where were born to them five children, as follow : Caroline, who died at the age of five years; Michael George, who died in August. 1911 : John H. L., whose name forms the caption of this biography : P. J., who also is an honored resident of Camden, Preble county, and Sarah Rebecca, the wife of Doctor Ferguson, a well-remembered physician of Camden, both of whom now are dead.
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