Portrait and biographical album of Greene and Clark counties, Ohio, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county; together with portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States, Part 48

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 918

USA > Ohio > Clark County > Portrait and biographical album of Greene and Clark counties, Ohio, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county; together with portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States > Part 48
USA > Ohio > Greene County > Portrait and biographical album of Greene and Clark counties, Ohio, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county; together with portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States > Part 48

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Early in the year of 1852, Mr. Hotsenpiller went to Dayton, and entered the employ of a stereo- typer, to whom he became a very valuable assist- ant on account of his experience in the business

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and his natural adaptability to it. Not having oe- casion to use the money which he earned, he al- lowed it to remain with his employer until the amount aggregated $1,000. He took a note for the amount, which he subsequently applied to the purchase of a stoek of books, stationery and no- tions, at Springfield, giving his note for the bal- ance, his stoek being valued at $5,000. He soon had his goods arranged in a convenient store, and in a short time built up a large trade, which re- sulted in the rapid accumulation of money. The man, however, from whom he took the $1,000 note failed in business before it became due, thus neces- sitating the enforeed payment of the same by Mr. Hotsenpiller, and this eaused him to sell his busi- ness in order to meet it.

After settling his elaim Mr. Hotsenpiller was still left with some means and, in 1880, began dealing in real estate, and in this enterprise was also successful, handling not only local property, but reaching out into different States adjoining. In 1881 he laid out what is known as Hotsenpiller's Addition to the eity of Springfield, from which he has realized handsome returns. Later, owing to the condition of his health, he went to the mag- netie springs in Union County, which afforded him relief in such a short time that, in 1885, he de- termined upon purchasing the springs, which he did, and soon had arranged for the ereetion of various needed buildings, ineluding the Park Hotel and magnetic bath house, cottages and various other structures. Near by is the lake which re- ceives the surplus water from the springs, by which it is partly surrounded, and which forms a beauti- ful sheet of water. The hotel has the capacity for for accommodating one hundred and fifty guests, while the numerous cottages adjacent are eon- veniently furnished suitable for the temporary use of families. The springs are not only a healthy resort, but furnish a quiet retreat for any who wish to avail themselves of summer rest and recupera- tion.

Mr. Hotsenpiller spends most of his time, es- peeially during the summer months, at the springs, while at the same time he looks after his lands and the Rock Point Mills, in Clark County, of which he is proprietor. He was one of the original

stoek-holders of the Springfield Brass Company, of which he was made President, and he is also a stockholder in the Champion Eleetrie Light Com- pany at Springfield. Socially, he belongs to Clark Lodge, No. 101, A. F. & A. M., and Moncrieffe Lodge, No. 33, K. of P.

Mr. Hotsenpiller is unmarried. He is possessed of more than ordinary intelligence, and that genial and companionable disposition which has drawn around him hosts of friends. He is recognized as one of the most valued citizens of Clark County, and has contributed his full quota to the further- ance of its best interests.

E DWIN F. HILL is well known to business men in Springfield as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Champion Chemical Com- pany, which was incorporated in May, 1888. The business of the company is the manufacture of em- balming fluid and the Boyd Burglar Proof Grave Vaults. Mr. Ilill is the originator of the embalm- ing fluid business and also the founder of the stoek company which now controls it. He has manifested such qualifications for a business career as have given him an excellent standing in commereial cir- cles, while his social qualities make him a popu- lar member of various lodges and the society of the eity in which he makes his home. He is a native of Springfield, where he first saw the light of day August 4, 1849.

The subject of this biographieal notice received his early education in the schools of Springfield, continuing his studies during his youth and beeom- ing possessed of mueh praetical knowledge. Upon beginning his business eareer he became connected with the firm of Deardorf, Millen & Co., manufae- turers of coffins, as a traveling salesman. Subse- quently he became a member of the firm of Boyd, Hill & Co., manufacturers of caskets, and in 1887 he started the manufacture of the embalming fluid, during the same years being also a member of the firm of E. F. Hill & Co. When the stock company was formed and incorporated, Dr. A. A. Baker was made President, S. E. Baker Vice-President, and

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Mr. Hill Secretary and Treasurer. The Champion Chemical company has built up a thriving business and finds a ready sale for their goods in the North, South, East and West. Their fine works are an ornament to the manufacturing districts of the city and afford employment to a number of men, thus adding to the other trade of the city.

Mr. IIill is a member of Clark Lodge No. 101, F. & A. M .; of Springfield Chapter No. 48, R. A. M .; and Springfield Council No. 17, Royal and Select Masters. He is a member of the First Pres- byterian Church to which his wife and daughter also belong.

AMES HI. KYLE. In December, 1870, Mr. Kyle, who is a native of this county, opened a livery and feed stable in Xenia, which he has since conducted successfully and he is now in the enjoyment of a flourishing business. His main building is of briek, 100x74 feet in dimen- sions, and in the rear is a frame structure forty feet square, within which are all the equipments necessary for the carrying on of the enterprise, which receives its patronage from the leading peo- ple of this vicinity.

The interests of Mr. Kyle have eentered in Greene County all his life, as he has grown with its growth and advanced in proportion to its pros- perity. He was born February 12, 1838, two miles north of Xenia, at the homestead of his par- ents, James and Delilah (Gartrell) Kyle, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and came each with their respective parents to this county as early as 1825. The father secured a tract of land and prosecuted agriculture all his life. He departed henee in 1861, aged sixty-five years. He had been a peace- ful and law-abiding citizen, honest and industrious, and enjoyed the esteem and confidenee of all who knew him. The mother passed away in 1884, at the advanced age of eighty-six years; she was a lady of many estimable qualities and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The parental household included five children, viz .: Samuel, Sarah J., James H .; Margaret, who died, after her marriage to Simon Sidenstek, when about

thirty years old, and William. The Kyle family is of Seotch-Irish ancestry, while the Gartrell's originated in Germany.

Mr. Kyle began to "paddle his own canoe" when a lad of eight years, leaving the parental roof and employing himself at whatever he could find to do until a youth of sixteen. He then commenced an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, which he prosecuted until after the outbreak of the Civil War. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a Union soldier in Company H, Ninety-fourth Ohio In- fantry, and was with his regiment at all the battles in which it -participated, including some of the most important engagements of the war. He met the enemy in front of Richmond, and wasat Perry- ville, Chattanooga and Atlanta, also at Chieka- mauga where he was slightly wounded. At Bentonville he received a wound in the right arın which later necessitated its amputation. Shortly afterward he was sent to the hospital on East River, N. Y., by the way of Charleston, S. C., and thence to Newberne. He was discharged from the hospital in the summer of 1865, and returning to Xenia was elected Town Clerk, which office he held for a period of seven years. He was United States Assessor two years, served eleven months as Inspector and was Deputy Sheriff four years. In 1874, he was elected Sheriff of Greene County, which office he held two terms.

Mr. Kyle was married, in May, 1876, to Miss Lottie, daughter of Daniel and Mary Brubaker. This lady was born in Franklin County, Ohio. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania and are stil living. Of this union there have been born no children.

ARON CRITES is one of the leading farmers and stoek-raisers of Spring Valley Town- ship, Greene County, his home farm being one of the finest in the entire valley, and comprising one hundred and ninety aeres of land. It has been carefully and intelligently eondneted, and presents an attractive appearance to the eye of the passer-by, evincing its productiveness and

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the thrift of its owner. He also owns another farm of one hundred acres in Greene County. He has served in local positions, and is an honored and respected member of the community. He belongs to the Free & Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The birthplace of Mr. Crites is New Creek, Grant County, W. Va., his natal day having been February 23, 1840. He was reared on a farm, and in his youth removed with his parents to this State, where the most of his education was obtained. His school privileges were quite limited, but although he has not the extended knowledge sometimes ob- tained in the schoolroom, he is intelligent and well informed, his native intelligence and the resources to which anyone desirous of information can have access having given him a large fund of informa- tion.

When twenty-one years old Mr. Crites began his career in life, meeting with some discourage- ments and having some disadvantages to over- come, but gradually and surely reaching a position of financial comfort. On the 18th of February, 1872, he was united in marriage with Margaret E., widow of Lewis W. Babb, who was born on the place where she now resides. Her natal day was March 19, 1839, and she is a daughter of Robert and Sarah (Coppie) Evans. The happy union has been blessed by the birth of two children- William E. and Sarah May.

The subject of this sketch traces his paternal ancestry back to Germany, the first of the line in this country being his grandfather, Jacob Crites. He had six sons-Jacob, Jolin, Solomon, Joel, Phillip and Jonathan. Joel Crites married Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Bond) Crites, of West Virginia, his own native State having been Pennsylvania. They had nine children- Clara, wife of George W. Fletcher, of Missouri; Aaron; John, now living in Nebraska, who be- longed to the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio In- fantry during the late war; Hannah, Sarah; Jane, now Mrs. Parks; Abraham and Isaac (twins) ; and Lovina, who died in Ohio. The latter was twice married, her first husband being Jolm Shoemaker,

and the second John Jackson. The mother of this family died in 1838, and the father subsequently married Nancy Shoemaker, of Greene County, who bore three children-William, now deceased, Clara and Mary.

Joel Crites was and still is a farmer. In 1855 he came to this State, residing for a year in Spring Valley Township, Greene County, and thence going to Montgomery County, Ill., where he re- mained two years. He then returned to the Buck- eye State, remaining there until the spring of 1862, when he changed his abode to DeKalb County, Mo., where he is still living. In politics, he is a Democrat. The parents of our subject were mem- bers of the Lutheran Church in West Virginia, but on coming to Ohio they became identified with the Methodist Episcopal denomination.

AMES WILLOUGHBY. In the career of the subject of this notice we have that of a man who has made for himself an admirable record as an individual and a citizen, and who has endeavored to carry out the best principles of true manhood as far as in him lay. The fact that he is highly spoken of by those who have known him for many years past is sufficient indica- tion of his true character and the manner in which he has performed his obligations to his family and his fellow men. He remains a resident of his na- tive county of Clark, and first opened his eyes to the light in Moorefield Township, March 12, 1831. His parents were William and Ellen (Clark) Wil- loughiby, the father a native of Connecticut and the mother of Clark County, this State.

Mr. Willoughby was deprived by death of the affectionate care of his mother when a little lad of six years. His father, however, lived to be ninety years old, dying in 1888 at his home in Decatur, Ill. William Willoughby came to Clark County with his parents when a boy, and in carly manhood taught school in this and Champaign Counties. After his marriage he lived for a time in Clark County, then removed to Champaign County, where he resided for a time, but finally returned and tak-

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ing up his abode in Springfield, was a resident of that eity for over a quarter of a century. Then went to Decatur, Ill., where he spent the closing years of his life.

The father of our subjeet was twiee married and of the children born to him there are now living, James of this sketeli; Mary, a resident of Decatur, Ill. ; Leaven, likewise of that city, and John, a resi- dent of De Witt County, III. The elder Willoughby when becoming a voting citizen identified himself with the old Whig party but upon its abandonment lie wheeled into the Republican ranks. He was a man of note in his community and one whose opin- ions were generally respected. He did a large amount of pioneer labor, being well fitted by na- ture and acquirements to grapple with the difficul- ties whieli fall to the common lot of those who make their home in a new country.

The subject of this sketeh spent his early years at home with his father, and from the age of nine- teen until thirty,assisted in driving cattle across the Alleghany Mountains from Illinois and Ohio to Lancaster, York and Chester Counties, Pa., also to the city of Philadelphia. ITis education was neces- sarily somewhat limited, but his habit of reading and observation conspired to make him a well-in- formed man. He remained a bachelor until thirty- five years old and was then married October 9, 1866, to Miss Mary Maxwell, who was born in Clark County and is the daughter of Thomas and Eliza (MeCullough) Maxwell who were among its pio- neer settlers. They are still living and residents of Hamilton this State.

Mr. Maxwell was a native of Virginia and came to Ohio with his parents when about six years old, they settling in Moorefield Township. After mar- riage they remained residents of this township many years, then removed to Hamilton. Of the five children born to them only three are living : Henry, a resident of Moorefield; Catherine, the wife of James Rose, of Kentucky and Mrs. Willonghiby. The mother was born near West Liberty where ler parents settled at a very early day. Mr. Maxwell is a highly respected citizen and in former years was a member of the old Whig party. After its abandonment he identified himself with the Repub- lieans of whose principles he is a warm supporter.

Mrs. Willonghby was born in Clark County, No- vember 12, 1848, and remained with her parents until her marriage. Her union with our subjeet has resulted in the birth of three children : William, Ida, the wife of James Rollins, of Champaign County, and Horace, of this county.

Mr. Willoughby settled upon his present farm in the spring of 1883 and gives his attention to tlie careful cultivation of his land, believing with Horace Greeley, that a small amount well tilled is of more value than a larger area partially neglected. He has been an interested eyewitness of the growtli and development of Clark County and has always been a conscientious voter, casting his ballot con- tinuously in Moorefield Township sinee reaching his majority. In the fall of 1864 he traveled all the way from Illinois hither, in order to vote for Abraham Lincoln for President, bearing cheerfully his own expenses. He assisted in hauling the gravel from the pit in Springfield to grade the first railroad running through the place to Xenia, and has had a hand in various other enterprises calculated to ad- vanec the material interests of Clark County. He may reasonably feel that he has made for himself a good record and that he is amply worthy of being represented in a work designed to perpetuate the names and deeds of both the pioneers and the na- tive-born sons of the Buekeye State.

G EORGE ENGEL. This enterprising Ger- man citizen is one of the leading nursery- inen of Southern Ohio, dealing in all kinds of nursery stoek, a business which he has prose- euted sucessfully since the spring of 1878. That year lie came to Xenia from Louisville. Ky., and purchased the greenhouse of T. G. Wilson, in the western part of the city. From a modest begin- ning he has steadily progressed until he is not only well-to-do financially, but has attained an enviable reputation in connection with his business.

The first twenty-five years of Mr. Engel's life were spent on the other side of the Atlantic in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, where his birth took place December 25, 1848. He was

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reared to the business of a florist, which his father before him had followed sueeessfully. He remained under the parental roof during his boyhood and in aecordanee with the laws and customs of his native country, was placed in school when a lad of six years and pursued his studies quite steadily until fourteen. IIe was trained to habits of industry and economy and these, added to the natural traits which he had inherited from a substantial ancestry, provided him with the surest eapital by which to attain success in life.

In 1873 Mr. Engel leaving his native land em- barked on a vessel at Bremen and sailed to the West Indies. In the fall of 1874 he determined to seek the United States. Landing in Brooklyn he sojourned there two years where he was em- ployed in a greenhouse and then going to Louis- ville, Ky., he sojourned there about eighteen months. His next removal was to Xenia of which he has sinee been a resident.

During his sojourn in his native land Mr. Engel served a year and a half in the Hessian Army, par- tieipating in the Franco-Prussian War. He served under Gen. Mantofel and met the enemy in several hard-fought battles. His bravery and fidelity to duty were such as to seeure him the respeet of his comrades and the approval of his superiors, and at the elose of the eonfliet he was given an honorable discharge-a trophy which he still preserves with eare. In 1881 he identified himself with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows at Xenia, with which he is still eonnected. He is also a Knight of Pythias and a Knight of Honor and belongs to the order of Red Men, and is a sound Republiean.

C LIFTON M. NICHOLS, for thirty-five years editor of the Springfield Daily Republic and its predecessors and suecessors, has been for that period prominently identified with every move- ment liaving for its object the moral and material welfare of the community. Such has been liis zeal, activity and courage in behalf of every good cause and in the promotion of the interests and growth

of Springfield, that it has justly been said that to few otlier men is the city more largely indebted for its rapid progress and wide reputation.

As editor of the Springfield Republic, Mr. Niehl- ols used the columns of that paper with the skill of an accomplished writer to spread the fame of Springfield and its great industrial enterprises, with a degree of suecess which the marked prosperity of the eity clearly attests. He rendered special service in the war for the maintenance of the Union and was for five months at the front as a volunteer soldier. Every project which aimed at the advance- ment of the public interest in any way, if not ori- ginated by him, as many such projeets have been, was always sure to seek and readily obtain his effi- eient eo-operation.

Clifton M. Nichols was born in Westfield, Chau- tauqua County, N. Y., June 14, 1830, and was the eldest son of Wiseman Claggett and Fivilla (Cass) Nichols, the father a native of Thetford, Vt., and the mother of Stratford, N. H. Jonathan and Tri- phemia (Saekett) Niehols, the grandparents of our subject, were natives of Bolton, Mass., and of Kent, Litehfield County, Conn., respectively. Clifton M., was a resident of Mayville, N. Y., from 1837 to 1840; of Portland, N. Y., from 1840 to 1848, and of Oberlin, Ohio, from 1848 to 1852, in which year he went to Cineinnati and from there to Spring- field in April, 1854, where he has since resided.

Though wholly free from sectarian bitterness, Mr. Niehols has throughout his entire life taken an active and leading part in religious movements, in the advoeaey of temperance principles and in belialf of popular edueation. As a Sunday-school worker he is widely known, having been called to the Presideney of the Ohio Sunday-school Union as a result of his untiring labors and recognized usefulness in that field. In June, 1880, he repre- sented the Union and the Congregational Associa- tion of Ohio, at the Raikes Centennial World's Sunday-school Convention, held at London, Eng- land. Mr. Nichols went to Europe again with his wife, Mrs. Frances Henrietta (Keith) Nichols, in 1882, and visited various portions of England, Seotland and Franee.

The Republic newspaper formed alliances and was eonsolidated with other journals, being known

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

in the year 1884 as the Globe-Republic, again as simply the Republic and since 1888 as the Republic- Times, of which paper he was the editor-in-chief until he resigned this position to take the Superin- tendency of the Board of Trade, in the manage- ment of the affairs of which he has exhibited rare skill, energy and unflagging industry.

To a cultivated mind, rare talents, a familiar knowledgeand keenly appreciative taste in literature, good ability as a writer, public speaker and leeturer, Mr. Nichols adds such qualities as a worthy citizen, good neighbor and personal friend as have secured for him the warm esteem of the community in which he lives. In addition to his regular news- paper work he is a regular contributor to sueh journals as the New York Tribune, the Congrega- tionalist, of Boston, the Advance, of Chicago, and the Golden Rule, of Boston, and has also contrib- uted to the Sunday- School Times, of Philadelphia.

R OLLA DAVIS. Among the business men of Bellbrook, Greene County, no man bears a higher reputation for personal character and business integrity and tact than the gentleman whose name initiates this sketeh. Two years since he bought out the establishment of M. D. Smith, and added notions and hardware to the grocery stoek that had been carried; his busi- ness now amounts to $6,000 per year, and gives promise of still farther sales in time to come. Mr. Davis owns a fine farm of ninety acres, seventy of which are under the plow, furnished with a good house, adequate barns and other buildings, and well stoeked. It is rented out, and his entire attention is devoted to his business&interests in the village, and to the service of his fellow-men as a township official, and in church work.

The father of the gentleman of whom we write was a prominent man in this locality for a number of years, and the name of Jonathan Davis belongs to the history of this section. He was born in Delaware, but came to Ohio when a poor boy, first working out on a farm and in a sawmill. By hard work, striet integrity, and wise economy he ae-

cumulated an estate valued at $70,000. He married Roxann Silvers, who bore him four children, three of whom are now living. She having been removed from him by death, he became the hus- band of Sarah Ann Darst. Their union resulted in the birth of eight children, six of whom survive. He departed this life in 1875, and his widow in 1880. For thirty years he was an Elder in the Diseiples Church. A further account of his history will be found in the sketch of Mrs. Daniel Wilson.

Jacob Davis, the oldest brother of our subjeet, died March 13, 1890, aged forty-eight years and ten months, leaving a widow. He was an Elder in the Christian Church. Jonathan, a brother two years older than our subjeet, gave his life to his country, being a member of the One Hundred and Eighty- third Ohio Infantry during the Civil War. He was wounded at Duck River, Tenn., and died in the hospital at Louisville, Ky., his body being brought home and interred in the cemetery near Bellbrook. He was an earnest Christian, and took an active part in devotional exereises in the eamp.

The subject of this biographical sketeh was born on the home farm in Greene County, May 4, 1845, and after reeciving a good commou-sehool educa- tion spent one year in study at the Christian Uni- versity near Indianapolis, Ind. During his boyhood he acquired such a knowledge of farming as is ob- tained by any intelligent youth who is reared upon a farm, and laid the foundation for future suecess in agricultural work. He began life for himself at the age of twenty years, and for fourteen years was engaged in tilling the soil. He afterward took an ageney for the sale of agricultural implements, and was occupied in this work some seven years. His next enterprise was the mercantile business, in which he is now engaged, and in which he is giving proof of the fact that his business abilities are such as to adapt him to a life of trade.

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Portrait and biographical album of Greene and Clark counties, Ohio, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county; together with portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States, Part 48

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 918