The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 104

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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EZEKIEL BOGGS, farmer and carpenter ; P. O. Covington. Ezekiel Boggs, farmer and carpenter, is a son of Aaron Boggs, a native of this county, who, when 18 years of age, went to Kentucky and lived there seven years, he then moved back to Ohio and located in Shelby Co .; lived there three years, then came to this county and purchased a farm about one mile north of Covington, and lived upon it until his death. Ezekiel Boggs was born in Kentucky in the year 1838;

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raised a farmer, and has followed the occupation most of his life. Mr. B., being naturally handy with tools, about twelve years ago contracted to build a house, and since that time has worked mostly at carpentering. He has twice been mar- ried-first with Eve, a daughter of Henry Etter ; she died Nov. 8, 1866, leaving two children-Henry L. and Ida Alice ; his second marriage was with Esther C. Coats, Dec. 27, 1869 ; they have five children-Mary A., Anna May, James Q., Aaron and Elizabeth.

DAVID C. BOSSERMAN, farmer; P. O. Bradford. David, a son of Isaac Bosserman, a native of Adams Co., Penn., came to Ohio about the year 1833, and located first in Darke Co., living there about twenty-six years ; in 1860, he moved into this county and purchased a farm abont one mile north of Bradford, where be now resides. He married Miss Lydia, a daughter of Jacob Warner, an old soldier of the Indian war ; they had four children, three living-Solomon W., David C. and Emma F .; David C. was born in Darke Co. Aug. 30, 1859 ; was raised upon a farm ; he has lately been to Michigan, where he expects to make his home.

REV. RICHARD BRANDON, farmer and preacher ; P. O. and residence, Covington. Although not an old resident of Covington, he has been identified with the growth of this vicinity, having been born near Versailles in 1820; his father died when he was a baby, and when 8 years of age, Richard was driven . from home by a step-father, battling with the world from that time; when 19 years of age, he taught school. He was married, Jan. 2, 1841, to Hannah Bay- man, also of Darke Co .; soon after his marriage, he was ordained a minister of the Christian denomination, and has continued an honored and useful minister of the Gospel ever since, his field of labor embracing churches in Darke, Montgomery and Miami Cos., but he has been preaching more or less in this county for the past forty years ; he is the present Pastor of the Union Church, located about two miles south of Troy, and also of the Greenville Creek Church, located about four miles west of Covington ; in 1863, he purchased a farm two miles west of Covington, which he still owns, and where he resided until 1876, when he removed to his resi- dence in Covington, which is a neat, commodious brick structure, located at the junction of the Troy pike and High street. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon, although quite advanced in years, are still active, reliable members of the church; they have four children living-Minerva (now Mrs. Jeremiah Thompson, of Darke Co.), Thomas A., Alexander B. and William H., all residents of this county, and all members of the Christian Church.

D. C. BRANSON, farmer ; P. O. Covington. D. C. Branson, farmer, is a son of Moses N. Branson, who was a native of New Jersey ; came to Ohio in the year 1820, located in Lost Creek Township, in this county, and lived there until his death, which occurred in 1877 ; D. C. is a native of this county, was educated : farmer, had a common-school education, taught school in his younger days several years, and since has been engaged in farming ; Mr. Branson is highly respected by the citizens of Miami Co .; he has held several public offices ; was Magistrate three terms, County Commissioner one term, and is one of the present Trustees of this township. He married Miss Charlotte D., a daughter of George Suber, of this county ; they had eight children-Willis, John, Franklin, Harriet, Caroline, Sarah, Lydia and Angeline.

WILLIAM A. BROWNE, publisher, Covington. Among the business enter- prises of Covington none are of more general interest than the home paper. The first attempt to publish a paper here was made by S. W. Eley, and the first issue of the Stillwater Valley Gazette was brought out by him in July, 1870, the enterprise being quite liberally supported by the citizens of this vicinity, but, for some reason, the ed- itor did not succeed in building it up, but on the contrary, the patronage declined until the present editor, Mr. Wm. A. Browne, took it in charge in 1874; he changed its style from a four to an eight column sheet, its name to the Covington Gazette, and otherwise improved it, receiving an increased patronage as his reward ; in March, 1879, Mr. Browne bought out the company which had previously owned it, becom- ing proprietor as well as editor, and is now doing a very satisfactory business. The

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press upon which the Gazette is printed is an old-style double-end Adams, and is said to be the first press used on State work in Columbus ; what offices it may have graced since, we are unable to state, but it now turns off very good work. Mr. Browne, born in Pennsylvania in 1842, is a son of the Rev. W. A. Browne (deceased), who was a member of the Maryland M. E. Conference, also brother to Miss Emma Alice Browne, known as a contributor to the New York Ledger and other periodicals ; when he was 12 years of age, he entered the office of the Cecil County Whig, and has been an occupant of a printing office ever since, during which time he has worked in many different offices in different parts of the United States ; was an employe in the office of the St. Louis Republican, and several years also of the Cincinnati Times, Commercial and Enquirer. It will be seen from the foregoing that Mr. B. is a self-made editor ; the printing office furnished both means and opportunity for his education, making it intensely practical, and emi- nently fitting him for the position which he now occupies ; through his energy; the Covington Gazette has come to be an established and successful fact, a credit to the town and a great benefit to this part of Miami Co .; his lively editorials will be long and gratefully remembered by the pioneers of the Dayton, Covington & Toledo Narrow Gauge Railroad. He was married in 1864 to Miss Sadie Hawkins, of St. Louis ; they have five children.

D. J. BUCHANAN, retired farmer ; P. O. Covington ; one of the old residents of Newberry Township; is a son of Geo. Buchanan, who was a native of Rocking -. ham Co., Va., and married Nancy Cassady, a native of Rockbridge Co., Va .; they came to Ohio in 1803, and located at Deerfield, Warren Co .; removed to Milton, Miami Co., in the fall of 1807 or spring of 1808, where he remained until the war of 1812, in which he was a soldier, being Captain of a company of "frontier guards," and in charge of the supply depot at the junction of Greenville Creek and the Stillwater- then called Fort Rowdy, now Covington ; in the beginning of the war, he removed his family to the east side of Stillwater, just over the county line, into Montgomery Co., which place continued to be his home until 1830, when he removed to a farm in Sec. 6, Newberry Township, where he spent the remainder of his days ; he was a carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade, and the son now has some articles of furniture that were both designed and made by him, which indicate originality of genius as well as a good degree of workmanship, valuable relics of olden times ; he was promoted Colonel of militia after the war in " training days," andwas an active and respected citizen ; both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church, and he was identified with the interests of Miami Co. from its formation until his decease, which occurred in 1862, he being in his 83d year ; his widow survived him nine years, and died in her 88th year ; they had a family of two sons and six daughters, four of whom became residents of this county and three of them still reside here. D. J., one of the younger children, was born in 1817, and grew to manhood during the formation period of Miami Co .; was raised on a farm, and has been actively engaged in farming all his life until about four years since, when he retired from active labor and removed to his residence in Cov- ington, which is a substantial, commodious structure, handsomely located at the intersection of Wall street and the Piqua pike; he has also been an active and respected, though unassuming, citizen ; was Trustee three years, and has repeat- edly refused offers of office ; is now living a quiet, retired life ; his farm is now carried on by his oldest son. Mr. Buchanan married, in 1846, Minerva, daughter of John Hershbarger, who was also a native of Virginia ; came to Ohio in 1824, to Miami Co. in 1833, and located in the north part of Newberry Township, enter- ing a tract of canal land ; Minerva was born in Augusta Co., Va., in 1818; they have raised a family of five sons, two of whom are living on his farm-one being a carpenter and the other farming the place ; one is a music teacher, another a school teacher, and the younger is now engaged in an art establishment in Cleveland.

JOHN A. BUCHANAN, carpenter, Covington. John A. Buchanan is a son of D. J. Buchanan, whose biography appears in this work ; John A. was born Dec. 16, 1851, upon his father's farm in Sec. 6, Newberry Township ; was raised

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and educated a farmer ; when 19 years old he learned the carpenter's trade, and has followed the business ever since ; he is a first-class carpenter and builder ; he built a great many of the beautiful farm buildings we see in this part of the county. He married Margaret J., a daughter of Henry Falkner, of Newberry Township ; they had two children-Otto Loy and Homer Willis.

AMOS BUTTERFIELD, hotel, Covington. Mr. Butterfield was born in Day- ton in 1838 ; his father, a carpenter and builder, built the court house in Dayton ; he removed to Miami Co. in 1847, and built the present County Infirmary build- ing, and many other large buildings, both public and private ; as a stair builder, he had few equals and no superiors ; his decease occurred in Troy in 1860; Amos grew to manhood here, and, in 1861, was married to Rosanna Fetters, whose peo- ple resided in Union Township; Mr. Butterfield has been a resident of Covington since this marriage, being engaged successively in carpentering, undertaking and . furniture, and other mercantile pursuits ; in March, 1880, he became "mine host" of the Leondis House, where he is winning favor with the traveling public.

R. E. CABLE, M. D., physician and surgeon, Covington. Dr. R. E. Cable is a son of Elder John Cable, who was a. native of Bedford Co., Penn .; married Miss Nancy A. Ellis, a native of Virginia ; came to Miami Co. in 1812, and located in Newberry Township, on Harrison's Creek, about two miles northwest of Coving- ton ; they had a family of eleven children, of whom only four are now living; three of these are residents of this county, and one resides in Kansas; Mr. and Mrs. Cable, after passing through the privations, dangers and toils incident to the early settlers, lived to enjoy much of the fruits of their labor; his death occurred in 1864, hers in 1874. The subject of this sketch was born in Newberry Town- ship Feb. 26, 1827 ; his youth was spent on a farm until about 18 years of age, when he commenced teaching school and studying medicine; graduated at Cin- cinnati, Ohio, in 1849, and began the practice of medicine at Pleasant Hill the same year, receiving his initiation in practice during the memorable cholera scourge ; he continued to practice at Pleasant Hill until the fall of 1859, when he removed to Covington, and has remained ever since, enjoying a very satisfactory practice. Dr. Cable is one of the few medical men who take an active interest in the general public, is a public-spirited citizen, always contributing liberally to any and every enterprise which has for its object the better condition of his fellow-citi- zens or the general public, while his extensive practice ranks him among the lead- ing physicians of the county ; his office is conveniently located on Pearl street, adjoining his residence, which is a fine brick structure of modern design, elegantly furnished and pleasantly located on the corner of Wright and Pearl streets.

JACOB CABLE, farmer, carpenter and undertaker ; P. O. Covington. Jacob Cable is a son of John and a brother of R. E. Cable, whose biography appears in this history ; Jacob was born Aug. 7, 1824, upon his father's farm in Sec. 19, New- berry Township ; his young days were spent in assisting his parents and attend- ing the district school ; when 18 years of age, he learned the carpenter's trade ; he has worked at his trade most of the time since, and is also engaged in the under- taking business; he has a beautiful farm of 60 acres, with good farm buildings upon it. He married Miss Susanna, daughter of Thomas Wenrich, a native of Pennsylvania ; they had ten children, eight living-Cynthia Ann (living in Mis- souri), Frances, Esther, Thomas B., Clinton, Alice, Nancy A. and Arte F.

T. B. CABLE, teacher, Covington. T. B. Cable is a son of Jacob Cable, whose biography appears in this work. T. B. was born Feb. 2, 1857 ; was raised and educated a farmer ; for several years attended the Covington Graded School, and graduated there in 1877 ; since then he has been engaged in teaching school ; has been very successful, and is highly respected.

A. L. CABLE, telegraphy, Covington. Is a son of John Cable, a native of Montgomery Co., Ohio, who came to this county in 1829, and located on Har- rison Creek. A. L. Cable was born March 13, 1861, upon the farm where James Seas now lives ; he was educated as a farmer, attended the Covington High School for several years, and graduated in the spring of 1878; in a short time he intends

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learning telegraphing, and making it his business; he is a young man with a good reputation, and promises something honorable for the future.

JOHN G. CARSON, farmer ; P. O. Piqua. John G. Carson, a son of William Carson, deceased, who was born in the State of Delaware; emigrated from that State to Ohio in the year 1815, and located in this township. John G. was born Sept. 12, 1834, upon the farm where he now resides ; was brought up to heavy farm labor ; received a common-school education, and is living a single life; he has a beautiful farm of 173 acres, well improved ; upon this farm he has a field that was cleared by the Indians, and to this day it is known as the " Indian field."

B. E. CASSEL, farmer; P. O. North Clayton. B. E. Cassel was born in Miami Co., near Troy ; his early life was spent upon a farm, until he was 19 years of age; he then enlisted in the 147th O. V. I., for four months, afterward enlisted in the 194th O. V. I., for one year, and went forward to battle for his country ; he was not engaged in any battle, but had to do a great deal of hard marching. He was twice married, first with Miss Martha, a daughter of George Howard, whose biography appears in this work ; they had one child, Mizpah. His second, mar- riage was with a daughter of Emmanuel Blickenstaff, deceased ; Mr. Cassel has a nice farm of 26 acres, with good improvements, a short distance north of North Clayton.

WILLIAM COUFFER, retired merchant, Covington ; he is a native of Frank- lin Co., Penn., and was born in 1814 ; he came to Miami Co. in 1850 ; he first pur- chased a farm about two miles northeast of Covington, and engaged in farming about four years, then sold and removed to Covington, where he has been engaged in merchandising in some form, until within the past few years ; having accumulated sufficient to enable him to retire from active business pursuits, he has lived a quiet, retired life, respected by all ; his residence is a two-story brick, pleasantly situated on Rock avenue, near the Stillwater. He was married in 1841, to Miss Maria J. Elder, by whom he had three sons, two of whom survive-Christian N., now dealer in boots and shoes, at. Urbana, Ohio ; and William E., now chief clerk in freight office of the Pan Handle R. R. Co., at Chicago; Mrs. Couffer's decease occurred Dec. 11, 1861. His marriage with Miss Sarah A. Dubois was celebrated Oct. 4, 1864 ; she was born in Warren Co. in 1833, and resided in Darke Co. at the time of her marriage, and is an intelligent lady.

J. C. DOWLER, farmer ; P. O. Covington. J. C. Dowler was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Oct. 1, 1819, and is a son of William Dowler, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio at an early day, and first located in Butler Co .; in the year 1824, he moved to this county and entered the land where J. C. now lives ; J. C. was reared & farmer, and, when 19 years old, he began teaching school, following the occupa- tion for thirteen years ; since then he has been farming. His marriage with Susan, a daughter of John Rike, deceased, was celebrated Aug. 14, 1856 ; they had one child- John W., an engineer and surveyor.

GEORGE H. DRAKE, farmer; P. O. Covington. George H. Drake, son of Daniel Drake, a native of New Jersey, cmigrated to Ohio about the year 1838, and located southwest of Piqua, on the farm where he now resides ; George H. was born upon his father's farm, and was reared and educated a farmer, and is highly respected by all who know him. He married Miss Mary E., a daughter of George Buckles, of this county ; they have two children-Theodore and Thomas F.

HENRY DREES, merchant, Covington. Among the business men of Cov- ington who deserve special mention is Mr. Henry Drees, the senior member of the firm of Drees, Miller & Neith, dealers in dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, groceries and queensware ; he is a native of Prussia ; was born in 1833 ; came to the United States in 1854, and located in Covington the same year, where he com- menced working at his trade (tailoring); ambitious to get a start, and business being scarce, he worked at anything he could get to do, from ditching to shop work ; in the fall of 1862, he purchased a small stock of goods, which included a general stock, and, in the following spring, Mr. D. Face became a partner, and they enlarged the stock gradually as their trade increased ; in 1866, Mr. Drees sold his

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interest to T. C. Leonard, but re-purchased it about six months later, and has con- tinued in the business ever since, being associated with different parties as part- ners ; in 1876, the present firm was formed ; they now occupy two rooms which adjoin each other ; in one is kept a general stock of groceries, queensware, etc., in the other a large stock of staple and fancy dry goods, boots, shoes and clothing, while the upper story is used for a tailor shop where suits are made to order. Mr. Drees came to Covington in 1854, a young man with nothing but his natural abili- ties and a knowledge of tailoring, but by energy and hard work, soon established himself in business here ; his long and successful business career is the best tribute we can give to ability, industry and wise management ; for he has been the business man of the different firms with which he has been connected ; he is also now one of the firm of Dodd, Face & Co., who operate the hub, spoke and bending factory here. He was married in 1855 to Miss Agnes Neith, who is a sister of one of his present partners ; they have eight children.

CHRISTIAN DUNKEL, miller ; P. O. Covington. Mr. Dunkel, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in Dauphin Co., in 1812 ; his father died when he was but a child, and his youth was spent in various occupations ; was errand-boy in a store two years or more. then worked on a farm for a time, then went into a woolen factory ; teamed some, and worked at the carpenter's trade, and when about 20 years of age began milling, which he has followed most of the time since ; he came from Lancaster Co., Penn., to Miami Co., Ohio, in 1835, and has been milling in the vicinity of Covington ever since ; the mill now known as Dunkel's, of which he is the manager, has a quite interesting history in connection with the business development of Covington; the site was first utilized by Jacob Ullery, who removed a saw-mill from near Fort Greenville, using the then abandoned fort for quar- ters while tearing down and removing it ; rafted it down Greenville Creek and put it up here, a little west of where the present flour-mill stands ; afterward Benj. Lehman bought it, together with the grounds, and erected a flour-mill ; he sold to John Brumbaugh, he to Patty Bros., they to - McCampbell, who in turn disposed of it to Swisher & Hartzell, and they to Ullery & Mikesell ; this Ullery was & son of the first owner, and Mikesell the John Mikesell whose biography appears in this work ; a brother of Ullery's bought out Mikesell, Lewis Kensinger bought out one of the Ullerys, and in 1877 Dunkel & Miller bought out Ullery & Kensinger. As Mr. Miller is a farmer of Newton Township, and quite aged, the business and man- agement is left entirely to Mr. Dunkel, a position which his experience, both as 8 miller and business man, eminently fits him, and which he is successfully filling. The mill is operated for custom and merchant business, and has a capacity of 300 barrels of flour per day ; it is situated near the mouth of Greenville Creek, from which its power is supplied, and is on the Painter's Creek pike, near the bridge across Stillwater, at the south part of Covington. Mr. Dunkel has been identified with one of the important industries in the vicinity of Covington for nearly a half- century, is still an active man of business and a respected citizen. He was mar- ried in 1840, to Miss Mary Eresman, of Darke Co., but she only lived about one year ; he was again married in 1834, to Miss Mary, daughter of John Falknor, deceased, who was an early resident of Newberry Township.

L. D. FALKNOR, farmer and dairy ; P. O. Covington. L. D., son of David Falknor, a native of this county, was born near West Milton in 1816; was raised near Covington, upon his father's farm, afterward belonging to him ; he put all the improvements upon the farm ; during the thirty years of his married life, there were only three seasons that he did not put up a building of some kind. He died Feb. 19, 1880, a highly respected citizen. L. D. was born June 9, 1851, near Covington ; he was raised and educated upon the farm where he lives ; besides farming he has been engaged in the dairy business for about four years ; he sup- plies Covington with milk that gives general satisfaction. He married Miss Ellen, a daughter of James Kelsey, deceased, Oct. 14, 1872 ; they had three children- Gracey Alma, Pearl and James William.

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JACOB FETTER, farmer ; P. O. Bradford. . Jacob Fetter, a son of Samuel Fetter, a native of Huntingdon Co., Penn., emigrated to Ohio in the year 1811, and located in Newton Township, Miami Co .; lived there until 1816 ; moved into New- berry Township, and purchased a farm known as the Yount farm. The subject of this sketch was born upon the Yount farm April 13, 1818 ; his early life was spent in assisting his father upon the farm ; he knows something of the hardships that the early pioneers had to endure; he has always lived in the same school district, but not on the same farm ; he owns a good farm lying west of the one mentioned, and west of Stillwater. Mr. Fetter has twice been married-first, Dec. 18, 1838, with Miss Maria, a daughter of John Hagan. Mrs. Fetter died May 29, 1848, leaving four children, viz., Nancy, Catharine, Hannah and John H. His second marriage was celebrated Dec. 19, 1850, with Miss Catharine, a daughter of Jacob Brumbaugh. From this union they had three children-Emma V., Mary F. and Samuel A. M. Mr. Fetter has held several public offices ; was Trustee, Land Appraiser and Assessor for several terms each. His father was either the first or second Justice of the Peace of Newberry Township.

G. H. FINFROCK, farmer and plasterer, Bloomertown. G. H. Finfrock, born in Carroll Co., Md., Feb. 25, 1826, is a son of G. H. Finfrock, Sr., a native of Mary- land ; came to Ohio in the year 1832, and entered the farm where Uriah Valentine lives ; he opened the farm and lived upon it until death. The subject of this sketch was raised a farmer, lived with his parents until 22 years of age ; he then learned the trade of a plasterer, has worked at it most of his time since, but lat- terly has given more attention to farming. He has three times been married, first, with Miss Mary Umholtz, his second wife was Miss Elizabeth Routson. They had four children-Milton A., Josephine, David C. and Israel C .; his third union was with Miss Maria E. Black. From this union they had five children, of whom four are living-Edith May, Harriet E., Cora M. and Fannie F.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 104

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051