USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 87
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with Rebecca (Moon) Chapman, widow of Nathan Chapman. His widow and three children survive, C. E. being the second in order of birth. An older brother, E. A., lives at Albany, Missouri, and a younger, E. H., resides in Ohio, a farmer in Champaign county.
C. E. Watkins obtained his educational training in Miami county, after which he followed farming on the homestead until after his marriage. Since then, with the exception of four years spent in Tennessee, he has resided in Green township, taking charge of his mother-in-law's farm in 1910. General farming is carried on here including crop and stock raising.
Mr. Watkins married Miss Mary Estella Verdier and they have four chil- dren: Veva, Dale, Clyde and Ethel. The family belongs to the Christian church. In his political affiliations Mr. Watkins is a Republican.
HERBERT R. McVAY, the efficient superintendent of the Sidney schools, was born in Athens county, Ohio, the day that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, April 14, 1865.
His parents were Wallace Webster McVay and Anna McCune McVay. His grandparents and great-grandparents on both sides came from Pennsyl- vania and settled in Athens county in the early part of the 19th century. Both branches of the family were of Scotch Irish descent of the Calvinistic faith and were ever among the social and religious leaders of their respective communities.
When fifteen years of age the subject of this sketch moved with his parents and four sisters from the farm which had been his birthplace and that of his father to Athens, the county seat as well as the seat of Ohio University. Here he and his sisters attended the public schools and in time all graduated from the university, Mr. McVay with two degrees, that of Bachelor of Philosophy and of Pedagogy. He afterward did post graduate work in the University of Chicago, and has just finished a course in pedagogy in Columbia University for he is in truth a progressive and is ambitious to keep abreast of the times.
Before taking up the supervision of schools he worked in the office of the county newspaper, read law, taught in the county schools and was a teacher in the Athens County Children's Home. His work as superintendent com- prised one year at Frazeysburg, six years at Somerset and Reading town- ships, four years at Washington, C. H., whence he came to Sidney in 1902.
Mr. McVay has not stagnated in the vacation times for he taught in the summer schools at Miami University in 1907 and 1908; has been a lecturer in Teachers' Institutes, an active member of the National Educational Asso- ciation whose meetings he always attends, President of the Ohio Teachers' Association and of the Ohio Superintendents' Round Table. He is Past Chancellor Commander of the Knights of Pythias, member of the lodge of Elks and belongs to the Beta Theta Pi College fraternity, a prominent men- ber of the Sidney Commercial Club and a Presbyterian in faith.
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Professor McVay is a teacher by native inclination and has brought to his work an unusual amount of power. He is unceasing in his efforts to train and stimulate his teachers and his hobby is the teaching of pedagogy and the study of child nature. He has succeeded in making the Sidney schools a social center by interesting the parents in the work of the children and has been rewarded with the longest term of service of any survivor of the Sidney schools. He has seen the enrollment of the Sidney high school in- crease more than one hundred per cent since his coming and has largely con- tributed to its taking first rank among the schools of the state which means that the school holds membership in the North Central Association of Col- leges and Secondary Schools, and that such schools accept its graduates with- out examination. This rank is given by the State Commissioner of Schools for a generally accepted standard of excellence.
Mr. McVay was married at Somerset, Ohio, August 20, 1898, to Miss Dora J. Scott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Scott, and lives in a tasteful home on Walnut avenue. He has three children, Martin Scott, born June 2. 1900; Mary Elizabeth, May 3, 1905; and Dorothy Ann, July 18, 1907.
Mrs. McVay's grandparents came from Maryland and Pennsylvania and were among the founders of the village of Somerset and Perry county and donated four hundred acres of land on which was established the Dominican convent of St. Josephs. Her grandfather, Dettoe, erected in Somerset a build- ing in 1817 in which he established a dry-goods store. His son-in-law, Martin Scott, took up the business in 1843 and continued it in the same room until his death in 1895. When Mr. Howe, author of Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, made his second trips over the state revising his work in 1888, he stated that Mr. Scott's was the most remarkable business career in the entire commonwealth. No other resident of the state could be found who had for so long a time, fifty-two years, changed neither his business nor location. It was in this store that little Phil Sheridan cierked when a boy and it was through Mr. Scott's efforts in his behalf that he was recommended by the Congressman of that district, General Ritchie, to an appointment at West Point.
The magnificent high school building, now in course of erection, is largely dne to the efforts of Mr. McVay who worked first to secure the splendid site and then to get through the $100,000 bond issue to build the school.
LOUIS H. SCHNELLE,* one of the representative citizens of Turtle Creek township, Shelby county, Ohio, who owns eighty acres of well cul- tivated land situated in this township, was born October 15. 1866, in Van Buren township, Shelby county, and is a son of Christopher and Elizabeth (Ruese) Schnelle.
Christopher Schnelle was born in Germany and came to America as a young man. The larger part of his subsequent life was spent in Ohio, where he married and reared his family and for many years carried on farmning in Van Buren township, Shelby county, where he died. His widow still re- sides on the old homestead. They were early and liberal supporters of the
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Lutheran church. Their family consisted of the following children: Henry, who is deceased; William; Minnie, who is the wife of Henry Soloman; Anna, who is deceased, was the wife of Henry Brandt; Louis H .; Elvina, who is deceased, was the wife of William Soloman; and August.
Louis H. Schnelle attended the district schools in his boyhood and after- ward remained at home working on the farm for his father until he was twenty-nine years of age and then bought the farm he now occupies. Here he made many changes, his improvements including the building of sub- stantial barns and the erection of the handsome brick residence, which has many modern comforts and conveniences. He carries on a general farming line and raises stock for his own use. All his industries are in a prosperous condition and Mr. Schnelle is numbered with the thrifty and judicious farm- ers of this section.
In December, 1895, Mr. Schnelle was married to Miss Elizabeth Soloman, who was born in Shelby county and is a daughter of Herman and Caroline (Whipling) Soloman, whose other children were : Henry, William, Louis and Theodore; Mary, widow of August Egbert; Anna, wife of Henry Oberwith; Louisa, wife of August Schwabero; and Emma, wife of Henry Schoe. Mr. and Mrs. Schnelle have three children: Caroline, Eliza and Marie. The family belongs to the Lutheran church. In politics Mr. Schnelle is a sound democrat and has served one term as road superintendent and has always taken an interest in the public schools.
LEWIS HOHN, who is one of the well known and highly respected citizens of Clinton township, now living retired and in the enjoyment of the ease won by many years of persistent industry, has been a resident of Shelby county since 1852 but his birth took place August 13, 1827, in Montgomery county., Ohio. His parents were Daniel and Mary (Gebhart) Hohn.
Daniel Hohn was born in Maryland and was six years old when his parents brought him to Ohio, and he was reared on one of the pioneer farms of that early period and farming was his occupation through life. When he reached manhood the whig party was a force in politics and he became a member of it, but in his later years was a democrat in his views. He mar- ried Mary Gebhart, who was born in Pennsylvania, no doubt of German parentage, and was but one year old when the family came to Ohio, where her subsequent life was spent. They had three children: Lewis, Elias and Lorette, the last named being the wife of John J. Stetler. The family be- longed to the Lutheran church.
Lewis Hohn had but meager educational advantages, partly because his father needed his help at home and also because in his boyhood not much provision had yet been made for the schooling of the children, a few months in the winter seasons being all they could expect in the way of instruction. He then settled down as a farmer, spending his summers in cultivating the land and his winters in the forests chopping cord-wood. When he came first to Shelby county he settled in Turtle Creek township and lived there for twenty-five years, where he owned sixty acres of land. In 1877 he bought
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the farm on which he still lives, in Clinton township, and retained his other farm until 1903, when he sold it and in later years rented out his present one, his tenant carrying on a general farming line here and raising enough stock for home use only.
Mr. Hohn was married first in 1849, to Miss Mary Straus, who died October 6, 1892, the mother of the following children: Mary, who is the widow of John A. Russell; William; Franklin L .; and Malinda, who is the wife of Michael Albert King. Mr. Hohn was married (second) on May 12, 1898, to Miss Louisa Tridle, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, but was reared in Shelby county, a daughter of John and Harriet (Yinger) Tridle. Mr. and Mrs. Tridle had the following children : Corwin, Margaret, Louisa, Elmer, Aaron, Elnathan, Yinger and George. Mr. and Mrs. Hohn are members of the Presbyterian church. He has always voted the demo- cratic ticket and continues his interest in public affairs. During his long life he has witnessed many changes and can recall many very interesting events of past days concerning the old families and the settlement of the county.
G. A. POPE,* postmaster at Lockington, O., and proprietor of the leading general store here, has been identified with the interests of this place ever since he has been in business. He was born in 1871 in Cynthian township, one mile north of Dawson, Shelby county, O., and is a son of George W. and Mary (Hughes) Pope, both now deceased.
George W. Pope was born in New Jersey and was a young man when he came to Ohio, and for many years was a farmer in Cynthian township. Shelby county. His death occurred at Dawson, O., in 1906, when he was aged seventy-two years. He was married first to Mary Hughes, who was the mother of six children : William, Charles, E. C., Cora A., G. A. and Lulu. The second marriage was to Mrs. Mary Brown.
G. A. Pope attended the public schools in Shelby county and in 1891 was a student at Ada, O. In 1898 he embarked in business at Lockington and gradually has increased the scope of his mercantile interests until they include a full line of merchandise, and the volume of business done amounts to $15,000 annually. Since 1906 Mr. Pope has been postmaster and is a satisfactory public official. He has frequently been elected to local offices on the republican ticket and at present is the only republican serving on the school board.
Mr. Pope married Miss Daisy M. Wegley and they have three children : Cloyd, Ethel and Leona. The family belongs to the United Brethren church. He is identified with several fraternal organizations both at Lockington and Piqua, O.
HENRY KUETHER, proprietor of the Sidney Dairy, at Sidney, O., one of the large and successful business enterprises of Shelby county, owns 120 acres of fine land in Clinton township and eighty acres in Turtle Creek township and keeps about fifty head of Shorthorn and Polled Durham cattle.
HENRY KUETHER AND FAMILY
بمس
JOHN OLDHAM AND SON RALPH
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He was born in Auglaize county, O., January 6, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Angeline (Shumacher ) Kuether.
The parents of Mr. Kuether were born in Germany and came to America when young and were married in Ohio. They were farming people in Auglaize county and were devout members of the Catholic church. Of their children, Henry was the first born, the others being: Caroline, who is the wife of \Vil- liam Kovermann; Catherine, who is the wife of Charles Broermann; Rosa, who is the wife of John Suter; John; Anthony; and Josephine, who is the wife of Henry Voskuhl.
When he was thirteen years of age, Henry Kuether left school and began work for his father on the home farm and remained there until he was thirty years old and then came to Shelby county. His first purchase of land was a tract of eighty acres, to which he added another eighty, afterward forty acres. In addition to carrying on general farming and raising stock for his own use, Mr. Kuether operates his large dairy, as before mentioned, making a daily shipment of fifty gallons of milk to Sidney, where he disposes of it wholesale. He is one of the enterprising business men of this section, paying careful atten- tion to his own affairs and prospering accordingly.
In February, 1891, Mr. Kuether was married to Miss Mary Winover, who was born in Mercer county, O., a daughter of Henry and Anna ( Hubert) Winover, who were farming people in Mercer and Henry counties. They had seven children : Mary, Martin. Geard, John, Anna, Elizabeth and Rosa. To Mr. and Mrs. Kuether three children have been born: Henry, Rosa and Anna. The family belongs to the Catholic church at Sidney. In politics Mr. Kuether is a democrat.
JOHN OLDHAM, attorney at law, a well-known and representative citizen of Sidney, O., where he has numerous business interests, was born here, October 28, 1882, and is a son of David and Sarah E. ( Everett ) Oldham. The father of Mr. Oldham was born in 1854, in Miami county, O., and now resides on his farm in Clinton township, Shelby county, while he maintains his law office at Sidney. The mother of Mr. Oldham was born at Sidney, a daughter of Grosvenor Everett. The four survivors of the family of six children are: Harry, who is a law practitioner; John; Robert, who is a resident of Dayton, O., and Mary Ethel, who lives with her parents.
John Oldham was reared at Sidney and after his graduation from the Sidney high school in 1900, entered the Ohio State University at Columbus. where he passed the year 1904-05 in the law department, having had two years of previous study under his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1905. For two years afterward he was associated with his father in the practice of law. For a short period he was in the collection business but in February, 1907, he embarked, with Harry Bennett, in the realty and loan business. His present responsibilities, membership in the firm of John Oldham & Co., dealers in real estate, and official position with the Oldham-Bennett Realty Company, as secretary and treasurer, indicate his high commercial standing. In 1912 the Oldham-Bennett Realty Company was incorporated with a capital of
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$40,000, with Milton Bennett as president; Elmer D. Kiser as vice-president ; John Oldham as secretary and treasurer ; and H. E. Bennett as general man- ager. The company handles both city and country real estate; owns a ten- acre gravel pit; makes its own building material, manufacturing cement blocks, brick, etc; erects its own houses and also deals in gravel and sand. at the present time furnishing these materials for the construction of the new high school building in course of erection at Sidney. As a business man in the full sense of the word, Mr. Oldham has displayed energy and foresight, while in a purely professional way he has met with flattering success.
Mr. Oldham married Miss Rose Bretches, a daughter of Samuel Bretches, a retired farmer of Shelby county, and they have one son, Ralph.
ALBERT J. FOSNIGHT,* whose valuable farm of 155 acres lies in Turtle Creek township, Shelby county, O., is one of the well-known men of this section, a successful farmer and enterprising, intelligent and thoughtful citizen. He was born in Van Buren township, Shelby county, June 6, 1862, and is a son of Absalom and Sarah Layton (Cotterell) Fosnight. The father, a native of Clark county, O., was a farmer all his life and both he and his wife died in Van Buren township. They had the following children : Henry; Albert J .; and Anna, who married Joseph Ellis and after his death married Joseph Reed.
In the public schools of Van Buren township, Albert J. Fosnight pursued his studies until fifteen years of age, in the meanwhile assisting his father on the home farm. At that time the father died and Albert J. and his elder brother assumed the responsibilities and together they operated the farm until the former was twenty-three years old, when he took entire charge and carried on farming operations until his marriage, when he purchased the interests of the other heirs. Later he sold the homestead and then spent four years engaged in farming in Oklahoma and after his return to Shelby county bought his present farm in Turtle Creek township. He raises grain and other products that do well in this climate and also enough stock for home use. Mr. Fosnight thoroughly understands everything pertaining to success- ful agriculture and his methods are those which ensure success.
In 1882 Mr. Fosnight was married to Miss Sarah Jane Feree, who was born in Shelby county, a daughter of Jeremiah and Lena (Staley) Feree. Mrs. Fosnight has two brothers, Grant and Joseph. To Mr. and Mrs. Fos- night the following children have been born: Clara, who is the wife of Clyde McClure; Frank, who married Alma Hensel; Edna, who is the wife of Lafayette Verdier, her first husband having been Frank Kneed: Charles; Cloy, who is the wife of John Reed : Lulu, who is the wife of Wayne Baker : and Lottie, John, Dessie and Clarence. In his views on public questions Mr Fosnight is very broad minded and is identified with the socialist party.
FRED J. RUSSELL, whose numerous and important business interests have made him widely known, is a member of the firm of Russell & Blake, and with his partners, John M. Blake and F. M. Sayre, owns and operates
FRED J. RUSSELL AND FAMILY
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The Farmers Grain & Milling Company, of Sidney, O. He was born in Clinton township, Shelby county, O., February 16, 1872, and is a son of Moses J. and Martha E. (Beck) Russell.
Moses J. Russell was a prominent citizen of Clinton township and a large landowner, having farms aggregating 420 acres. He was born in that town- ship and spent his entire life there, dying February 17, 1903, a son of Joshua Russell, one of the early pioneers. Moses J. Russell married Martha E. Beck, who was born in Turtle Creek township and died December 19, 1911, her father, Edward Beck, having been one of the earliest settlers in that township.
Fred J. Russell was reared on the home farm in Clinton township and in boyhood attended the country schools and later the Sidney high school. Until he entered into his present business, on January 22, 1912, Mr. Russell devoted the larger part of his time to agricultural pursuits and still maintains his home on his farm of 120 acres, in Clinton township. Also, with John M. Blake, he owns eighty acres more, also situated in Clinton township, and, with the same party, is the owner of the Farmers Feed & Sales Stables. The Farmers Grain & Milling Company manufactures the Triumph brand of flour, and also handles grain, seed, salt, coal, cement, plaster, hay, tile and straw, each partner attending to a specific end of the business, Mr. Russell being the grain man, Mr. Blake the flour man, while Mr. Sayre, who is secre- tary and treasurer, attends the office business, each partner being particularly well fitted through experience for his special duties. They are members of one family, being brothers-in-law.
Mr. Russell married Miss Caddie D. McClure, of Turtle Creek township, a daughter of William A. and Loretta McClure, substantial farming people of that section, and three children have been born to this marriage: Daisy, Frances and James Mack. In politics Mr. Russell has been a consistent republican since he became a voter and for two years served in the important office of chairman of the republican county committee. He is president of the board of education of Clinton township and is also serving in the office of road supervisor.
WALTER E. FRETZ,* senior member of the firm of Fretz & Lininger, dealers in furniture and undertakers, with quarters in the Ames building, Sidney, O., is one of the representative business men of this place and as a citizen is reliable, interested and useful. He was born at Garrett, in DeKalb county, Ind., March 18, 1882, and is a son of George and Eva Fretz, his father being now a retired farmer.
Walter E. Fretz spent his early years on the home farm and in the country schools prepared for college and later graduated from the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, Ind. Following the termination of his educational period he taught school for about five terms during the winter seasons, in the summers paying some attention to undertaking, after which he entered the Barnes School of Anatomy and Sanitary Science and Embalming, at Chicago, from which standard school he received his diploma as an embalmer in 1904.
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He resided at Garrett and at Auburn prior to accepting the position of manager of a large undertaking establishment at Kokomo, Ind., where he remained for three years, and from there came to Sidney, October 8, 1908, where he pur- chased the interests of the Mentges Brothers, the oldest undertaking firm in the county. Here Mr. Fretz associated himself with Mr. Lininger and since August 3, 1910, they have added dealing in furniture to the undertaking business. Mr. Lininger is also a graduate of the Barnes School and prior to entering into partnership with Mr. Fretz, was a member of the firm of Daily & Lininger, at New Holland, O.
In June, 1906, Mr. Fretz was married to Miss Pearl Daniels, of Waterloo, Ind., and they have one son, Robert L. Mr. Fretz belongs to some organiza- tions pertaining exclusively to his business and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias.
JOHN F. WENGER, who lives on his well-cultivated farm of 170 acres, which lies in Dinsmore township, Shelby county, O., three miles north and one mile west of Anna, O., was born here July 14, 1869, and is a son of George and Caroline (Bartch) Wenger, who had also three daughters : Louisa, Mary and Caroline, all of whom live in Dinsmore township. Louisa married Wil- liam Zengler; Mary inarried Philip Staley; and Caroline is the widow of William F. Kah.
After his school days John F. Wenger remained at home and helped his father, being the only son, and succeeded to the homestead. He has taken a great deal of interest in his various activities here and has spent time and money in improvements, erecting a handsome residence and substantial barns, tiling his land, fencing it and, where necessary, enriching the soil. He carries on his operations with marked success, adopting modern methods and making use of the latest improved machinery. Although a busy man with his own affairs, Mr. Wenger is also mindful of public needs and for the past eight years has served as a member of the school board, elected to this office on the democratic ticket.
Mr. Wenger married Miss Margaret Bridweiser, who is a daughter of John and Barbara Bridweiser, natives of Ohio, of German ancestry, and addi- tionally they had one more daughter, Carrie, and three sons: John, Charles and Louis. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wenger, namely : Myrta V., Louella, Bessie, Minnie, Della, Clyde and Orville W., all of whom still live at home, a pleasant, happy family group. They are kind, neighborly, hospitable people and it is pleasant to be privileged to know them.
W. O. PENCE,* a well-known resident and successful general farmer of Shelby county, lives on his well-improved farm of forty acres which lies seven and one-half miles southeast of Sidney. He was born in Champaign county, O., in 1876, and is a son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Blackford) Pence.
Frederick Pence belongs to a family that settled early in Champaign county, O. During the Civil war he enlisted from there and after his honor-
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able period of military service returned to Champaign county and became a farmer but has been a resident of Shelby county for many years and now lives retired at Pasco. He married Elizabeth Blackford and the following children were born to them: Mary Jane, Rhoda Ann, Delilah, Russell, William O., Emma Jane, Minnie Ruth, Naome, Frederick, Hattie, Harry, a babe that died in infancy and all the others survive with the exception of Mary Jane and Russell.
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