The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 115

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

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JACOB RENCH, farmer ; P. O. Covington ; born in 1847, on the northwest quarter of Sec. 8; is the son of Jacob and Sarah (Boggs) Rench ; he was reared on the homestead, where he remained, assisting in farming till the spring of 1876, when he moved to his present place ; in 1877, he removed to Darke Co., Wayne Township, and remained one year; at the end of this time, he returned to his pres- ent place, where he has since resided ; he owns and operates, with his brother, T. P. Rench, a steam thrasher, which they have successfully used for several years. He was married in December, 1872, to Mary E. Faber, a native of Pennsylvania ; she emigrated to the State of Indiana in 1866, and lived near Union City till a short time before her marriage, when she moved to Troy ; one daughter, Sarah Anna, was given them in September, 1879. Mr. R. is a member of the German Baptist Church.

JOSEPH ROSZELL, minister and farmer ; P. O. Troy ; born in New Jersey in 1822; is the son of Joseph and Hannah Roszell, natives, also, of New Jersey ; they emigrated to Ohio in 1832, and located near Centerville, in Montgomery Co .; Mr. R., Sr., was a farmer by occupation ; in the spring of 1842, he moved to Bethel Township, this county, where he passed the remnant of his days, his death occur- ring April 29, 1851 ; his devoted wife survived him till Dec. 28, 1869. His early educational opportunities were necessarily limited, but were well improved ; he is the youngest son of a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters ; he remained at home, discharging his filial duties, until the death of his father. The 22d of June, 1851, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Rachel A. Crow, a native of Virginia ; she emigrated to Ohio with her parents in 1835, and settled in the ex- treme southeast part of Bethel Township, in this county. Mr. and Mrs Crow both died in 1879, he at the ripe age of 87, and she aged 75 years; they were faithful members of the M. E. Church, and in their death the church lost useful members. Soon after the marriage of Mr. R., he removed to a place near Tippecanoe and en- gaged in farming ; he remained here for a period of twenty-six or twenty-seven years, and, one year ago, moved to the farm on which he now resides. Mr. and

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Mrs. R. are the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters ; four years ago a son was instantly killed, a horse throwing and falling on him. Mr. R. united. with the M. E. Church in January, 1851, and in 1853 was licensed as an exhorter, and in 1861 was ordained a local minister in the same church ; the duties of this official relation he discharged faithfully and with commendable zeal ; his wife and four children are members of the church.

JOEL ROTHERMEL, shoemaker, Pleasant Hill. Among the business men worthy of special mention in Pleasant Hill, is Joel Rothermel ; he comes of Ger- man parentage, and was born in 1833 in Berks Co., Penn. His father, Isaac Rothermel, is also a native of Berks Co., and still resides in his native place at an advanced age. Mrs. Rothermel died when our subject was only 2 years old; he then found a home with his paternal grandfather, with whom he passed his boy- hood days on a farm ; at the age of 16, his father placed him in his shop to learn the shoemaker's trade ; this he continued till 1858, when he emigrated to Ohio, locating in Pleasant Hill ; here he resumed his former occupation, combining with it for the first year the hotel business ; he worked as journeyman with several parties till 1862, when he formed a partnership with M. D. Myers ; three years subsequent, this partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Rothermel has since continued successfully the shop in his own name. He was a soldier in the late civil war, and member of the 147th O. N. G., which regiment was employed most of the time on guard duty. In July, 1862, he was appointed Postmaster of Pleasant Hill, which position he held for sixteen years; he has also been several times elected Councilman of the village. In addition to his trade, he deals in flour and patent medicines. His marriage with Miss Esther Longanecker was celebrated in Pennsylvania in 1857; she is a native of Juniata Co., Penn. They have had three children-one deceased.

WILLIAM E. SHELLABERGER, farmer ; P. O. Covington ; born in Juni- ata Co., Penn., in 1827. Is the son of David and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Shellaber- ger, both natives of Pennsylvania ; David was a farmer by occupation, and passed his entire life in his native county, his death occurring in 1854, at the age of 54. He was married to Elizabeth Reynolds, and had eight children, one of whom is dead. His wife, Elizabeth, moved to this State after his death, and married David Shellaberger of Pennsylvania. She died some eight years ago. The subject of this sketch is the third child of her last marriage ; he has made agriculture his occupation, and the thrifty appearance of his fine, large farm, his buildings and other improvements, indicate success in this direction; in 1850, he located in Covington, in this county, but afterward moved to a farm in Newton Township near Pleasant Hill, where he lived two years, then came to his present place, where he has since resided ; he is one of the successful farmers of Newton Township, now operating a farm of 172 acres. He and wife have been consistent members of the German Baptist Church for a number of years. Mr. Shellaberger is a man of industrious habits, and, in all his relations with the world, integrity is his ruling principle. He married, in 1854, Susan, daughter of Rudolph Mohler, and is now living with her at the age of 79 years. They have had eight children -two deceased. Rudolph Mohler was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., in 1801, and is the son of Jacob and Mary Mohler ; at the age of 18, he was apprenticed to the trade of a tanner, which he followed twenty-three years ; in.1842, he emigrated to Ohio, located in Newton Township, this county ; here he resided till 1875, when he went to live with his son, Henry Mohler ; here he remained till about one year ago, when he moved to his present place. He has been married twice, first in 1822, to Susanna Bousman, of Pennsylvania. Three children were born to this union. She died June 27, 1827. His second marriage was with Elizabeth Miller, in 1827, by whom he had a family of ten children. He is a member of the German Baptist Church, in which he has held the office of minister since 1832, and that of Elder for about twenty years. Mr. Shellaberger has always been . an earnest worker and devoted Christian.

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JOSEPHUS SHOEMAKER, nurseryman and farmer ; P. O. Covington ; born in Newberry Township in 1843; is the son of George S. and. Elizabeth (Williams) Shoemaker ; the former was a native of Lancaster Co., Penn., and emi- grated to this county with his parents when quite a young man, locating in New- berry Township. Here he lived till recently, when he moved to Delaware Co., Ind. Elizabeth Williams, his wife, was a daughter of Michael W., Jr., and grand- daughter of Michael W., Sr., the first settler in this township. She died before Josephus was 2 years old. This misfortune broke up the home, and he was put out among strangers, where he passed his youth, mostly in farming. His early education was limited to the common school. At the age of 19, he entered life on his own resources. With unyielding energy and unflagging industry, he has made it a success. He served as a soldier in the 147th O. N. G., and was disabled near Washington City. He then received a furlough, and, in 1864, enlisted in the 194th 0. V. I., and served until the close of the war ; then lived in Newberry Township one year, with his Uncle Williams. In 1875, he located on Sec. 10, Newton Town- ship, where he now resides, and is extensively engaged in the nursery business ; and, being skilled in his vocation, he now has a stock of 75,000 trees. He is also engaged in tanning bark for budding purposes. Mr. Shoemaker married Nancy Elmore in 1866 ; of their five children, four now survive. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker are members of the German Baptist Church.

JOHN SHOEMAKER, farmer ; P. O. Covington ; born in Franklin Co., Penn., in 1829 ; is the son of John and Catherine Shoemaker, both of Pennsylvania. John, Sr., immigrated to Ohio in 1834 or 1835, and located in Montgomery Co., on Mad River, where he soon died, leaving a family of three sons and one daughter. The subject of this sketch was then only about 6 years old. After his father's death, he made his home with a cousin till about 10 years old, when he came to this county, and resided with an uncle who lived here. When 20 years of age, he went to Iowa, and, in the spring of 1850, to California, over the plains. He then began prospecting for gold in the Columbia River. After mining fifteen months he returned, by the Panama route and city of New York, home. He returned with a neat competence, and, locating in Dayton, engaged in hauling stone for a time, but moved to Iowa and remained one year, when he returned to Newton Township, where he has since lived. He is a member of the German Baptist Church. Mr. Shoemaker was married Jan. 12, 1854, to Gulaelma Cooper, of Montgomery Co. She died July 13, 1869 ; they had two sons and three daughters; one son died in Indiana in August, 1879.

JOHN SLOAN ; P. O. Laura ; born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1814 ; is the son of William Sloan ; he was reared on a farm, and his early education was necessarily limited ; in 1840, he embarked on the sail vessel Hibernia for America, and landed in the city of New York Nov. 13; from this place he went direct to Lancaster Co., Penn., where he worked awhile to obtain means to continue his journey westward, and send for his family, which he had left in Ireland ; from Penn- sylvania, he came to this county and located in Newton Township, on Sec. 26 ; he lived here some time and then purchased the place on which he now resides ; Mr. Sloan may with propriety be called one of the self-made men of Newton Township; when he landed in the city of New York, he had only a penny in his pocket, and this he spent for tobacco ; he worked his way through to Ohio ; once located there, he set about with unflagging industry to establish a permanent and comfortable home ; how well he succeeded in this, his valuable farm attests ; politically, he finds expression for his views with the Republican party, with which he has been identi- fied since he has been a member of any party ; he refrained from taking any part in politics in this country, till he had opportunity and time to consider the princi- ples of the various parties, and then choose for himself ; he was brought up to the Presbyterian faith, and has been with his wife a member of the Hopewell Chris- tian Church for a period of thirty-five years. He was married to Jane Fee, of Ireland, in 1832; he has had five children, two deceased ; the living are William, James and Margaret ; he appreciates the value of learning, and takes great interest

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in educating his children ; he gave his sons a collegiate education. William graduated at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, and James at Meadville College, Pennsylvania; he is now a minister in the Disciples Church in Indiana.

WILLIAM R. SLOAN, farmer and attorney, Pleasant Hill ; was born in County Monaghan in 1835 ; is the son of John Sloan ; when about 4 years old, he came to America with his mother, his father having preceded him a short time; they landed at New York, and from there went to Pennsylvania, and thence to Newton Township ; he was brought up on a farm, and devoted his winter months to the acquisition of knowledge in the common school until 1854, when he entered Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, then under the presidency of the celebrated Horace Mann ; he graduated here in the scientific course, and then entered the pro- fession of teaching, which he followed for fourteen or fifteen years ; he was a sol- dier in the late war, in 147th O. N. I., Co. G ; he is now giving considerable atten- tion to the staidy and practice of law (see card in directory) ; he is a Repub- lican and an earnest and faithful worker for the party ; he and wife are members of the Christian Church ; he is member of the following orders, viz., A., F. & A. M .. of Pleasant Hill ; Franklin Chapter and Coleman Commandery of Troy ; the I. O. O. F. of Pleasant Hill, and Encampment of West Milton. . Mr. Sloan is a public-spirited and enterprising man, and is found indentified with whatever improves the country and society. He married Mary J., daughter of William Miles, Aug. 16, 1856: of the seven sons and three daughters born to this union, four are dead.

JEFF SNYDER, farmer; P. O. Pleasant Hill ; one of the prominent farmers of Newton Township ; was born in 1842, near Dayton ; he is the son of Simeon Snyder, a native of Maryland, born in 1811, about twenty-four miles from Balti- more ; when 4 or 5 years old. he immigrated to Ohio with his parents, who located near Dayton ; he resided on a farm till he was 18 years old, when he was appren- ticed to the carpenter's trade, and, after being variously employed for several years. in distilling, quarrying. etc., he finally engaged in the coopering business, which he followed as an occupation till 1856. when he purchased the farm he now resides on, one and a half miles east of West Milton. He was married to Harriet Mast. oldest daughter of Capt. Absalom Mast. whose father, David, was one of the first settlers in the northern part of Montgomery Co .; she was born in 1818, and died April 28, 1879; Simeon Snyder reared a family of two children-a son and dangh- ter ; the latter died Aug. 8, 1878. The subject of this sketch was brought up on a farm, and has made farming his life occupation ; the thrifty appearance of his large farms bears testimony to his skill and success in this direction. He married. in January, 1867, Amanda, daughter of Joseph Coppock ; she was born Jan. 22. 1845 ; they have three sons-Albert E., born Nov. 28, 1868 ; Omer C., Nov. 14. 1872 ; Frank L., Dec. 15. 1874.

JACOB STICHTER, farmer ; P. O. Pleasant Hill ; born in Union Co., Penn .. in 1818; is the son of Barnhart Stichter, a native of Pennsylvania, who died when our subject was only 9 years old ; on the death of his father, he left the parental roof, his mother being in poor financial circumstances ; for three years he worked for his board and clothes, after which he began to receive wages ; in 1841, he took a journey to the West, with a view of locating in that country ; after a few months, he settled in Clark Co., Ohio. In 1844, he was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Brown, of Maryland; she emigrated to this State in 1831, locating in Clark Co. : after his marriage, he lived near Carlisle, in Clark Co., operating a farm on shares for six years ; at the end of this time, by industry and economy, he had accumu- lated some means ; he came to this township and purchased the quarter-section of land on which he now lives, paying for it $6.500 ; of this he paid, at time of pur- chase, $2,000, which was all the money he owned, going in debt for the balance ; with this debt, and the larger part of his farm in the woods, he began life twenty- six years ago in this county ; possessing an indomitable will and unflagging in- dustry, he went to work, and, with the assistance of his wife, he soon paid off the debt and cleared up the most of his farm ; he has since. by his own exertion, added to this farm two others-one of 80 acres and the other of 110 acres ; he is

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a fair illustration of what perseverance and careful business habits can produce. He has reared a family of eight children, six of whom are married, and all located within two miles of the homestead; Mr. and Mrs. Stichter were formerly members of the M. E. Church, but, since coming to this township, cast their lot with the Shiloh Christian Church, of which they have been active members.

JOHN TEAGUE, farmer; P. O. Pleasant Hill ; one of the prominent citi- zens of Newton Township, was born in 1821, on the place adjoining his present farm ; he was brought to his present place when 2 years old, where he has since resided, a period of fifty-seven years. He is the son of Moses and Jane (Coppock) Teague, both descendants of pioneers, and married in 1816. His grandparents, Samuel and Rebecca Teague, were natives of Newberry District, S. C., from where they emigrated in 1805, locating in Newton Township, in October, 1806 ; here they passed the remainder of their lives, dying at the ripe old age of 85 years. Thus peacefully passed away two more of Miami Co.'s early pioneers. They brought with them to this county, three sons and seven daughters; a son was afterward drowned while crossing the Stillwater. Of this family, Moses was the fifth child, born in 1797, in South Carolina, and was a lad of 8 or 9 summers when his lot was cast in the wilderness of Miami Co .; with the exception of eleven years in Indiana, he passed his remaining years in Newton Township, most of them on the homestead ; they both died at the age of 75 years. Our subject's life has been that of a farmer, and in agricultural pursuits he has taken a great interest. In his home place he has 160 acres, and on it he has erected, at the cost of $8,000; one of the finest farm residences in the county. Mr. T. is a man of enterprise and industry, and a valuable member of society. He is a Republican in politics, and, although no office-seeker, has been chosen Township Trustee several times ; he, with his wife, is a member of the Christian Church. Mr. Teague has been married twice; first, March 12, 1846, to Susan Wheelock, of Union Township, who died Dec. 8, 1868, leaving four sons and one daughter. His second marriage was with Elizabeth Anderson, of Montgomery Co., Ohio, who was a daughter of John and Margaret Anderson.

N. B. TEETER, dealer in dry goods, boots, shoes, hardware, merchant tailor- ing, etc., Pleasant Hill ; prominent in the list of business men of Pleasant Hill is the gentleman whose name heads this list ; he was born in 1842, within the present corporate limits of the village of Pleasant Hill, and is the son of J. K. Teeters, one of the oldest merchants of the place, and founder of this village. He is a Pennsyl- vanian by birth, and emigrated to Ohio in 1837, locating on the present site of Pleasant Hill ; in 1843, he laid out this village and called it Newton, after the illus- trious philosopher; the name has since been changed to accommodate the post office; in 1847, he opened a dry-goods store, on the corner where he is now located, and where he has kept a store for thirty-three years in succession ; he is known as a careful, honest business man. The early life of our subject was variously employed, on the farm, in the schoolroom, and behind the counter selling goods; he thus early acquired those correct business habits which have combined with his energy to secure his success as a merchant. Mr. T., in the prime of his youth, was among the first to enroll his name for the defense of his country ; in April, 1861, at the first call for troops, he enlisted in the 11th O. V. I. for a term of three months ; during this period, they were stationed at Camp Dennison, near Cincin- nati ; his term of service expired in July, and, in the following September, he enlisted in the 1st O. V. C .; of this regiment he continued a faithful and honorable member for four years ; he was immediately sent to the front and identified with the Army of the Cumberland, first under Gen. Buell, and afterward under Gen. Ros- ecrans ; participated in the hard-fought battles of Stone River, Tullahoma, Chatta- nooga, Chickamauga, around Kenesaw Mountain, and for the possession of Atlanta and Knoxville, besides numerous skirmishes ; he re-enlisted in March, 1864, and was then sent back to Louisville, Ky., to be re-mounted. They were afterward sent into Alabama and Mississippi, under Gen. Wilson ; after several engagements, they found their way to Macon, Ga., where they met a "flag of truce," announcing

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the armistice ; here they remained till terms of peace were agreed upon, and, after some meanderings in South Carolina, embarked at Charleston, in September, via New York, to Columbus, Ohio; at this latter place he was honorably discharged on the 28th day of September, 1865, after serving nearly four and one half years ; after returning home he engaged for a time in farming; eight years ago, he embarked in the mercantile business at this place, and, by his careful attention to business, and good management, has built up a large and increasing trade ; he carries a large and well-assorted stock of dry goods, groceries, hardware, ready-made clothing, and makes a specialty of merchant tailoring ; all of his transactions are made upon the strict rule of honesty. He celebrated his marriage, in 1864, with Miss Maggie Jones. They have had three children, two deceased.

L. B. TERRY, wagon-maker, Pleasant Hill. Among the business men of Pleasant Hill appears the name of L. B. Terry, who was born in Greenville, Darke Co., on the 22d day of February, 1831 ; he is the son of Enos and Delilah (Westfall) Terry ; Enos T. was a native of New Jersey, and emigrated to Ohio in the beginning of the present century. His nuptials were celebrated with Miss Delilah Westfall, after which he located on a farm about one mile north of Green- ville ; subsequently, he moved into the town of Greenville, where his death occurred at the age of 48 years ; his wife survived him until August, 1873, when her death occurred in this place, at the advanced age of 762 years. Our subject's boyhood was passed in Greenville ; at the age of 14, he went to Piqua, Ohio, where he served an apprenticeship as carriage-maker, under W. R. Crozier, who is now the oldest carriage-maker in the State ; here our subject remained in pursuit of his occupation till he came to this place in 1870 ; since this time, he has turned his attention to the construction of wagons, which vocation he yet pursues, adding to it the making of almost all kinds of farming implements. He was united in mar- riage, Sept. 9, 1848, to Caroline Statler, a native of this county ; two children have been born to this union-William and Ella.

HIRAM TISOR, farmer ; P. O. Pleasant Hill ; he was born on the banks of the Ohio River, ten miles above Cincinnati, in 1812 ; he is of English extraction, and the son of Austin Tisor, a native of England ; Austin's father immigrated to America when he was only 1 month old, landing in Charleston, S. C., where he purchased a team and began a journey through the country, with a view of locating ; change of climate and the hardships of the journey, proved too severe for Mr. T. and wife, and they soon fell victims to disease and death, leaving four sons, of whom , Austin was the youngest ; the three oldest disposed of the team and re- turned to England, leaving Austin, then an infant, in the care of the trustees of the place ; he was put under the paternal care of Isaac Poff, a German, and thus early acquired the use of the German language ; in his manhood, he emigrated to Ohio, locating near Cincinnati. Here he married Susannah Wright, of South Carolina, who had emigrated to this State, with her parents, when only 16 years old ; he fol- lowed the hatter's trade and farming through life ; he was a 1st Lieutenant in the war of 1812, at the close of which he moved to Miami Co., locating just north of Covington ; his death occurred here in his 63d year ; his wife dying in the prime of her life, in 1835. Our subject, reared on a farm, has made farming his life occu- pation. In 1834, he married Phebe Greene, a native of Ohio; in 1837, he moved to his present place, where he has since lived ; his well-improved farm is the result of his own industry and perseverance ; his wife, Phebe, died Dec. 29, 1878 ; she was his faithful companion for nearly half a century ; of the son and three daughters born to this union, one daughter has died.

H. G. ULLERY, farmer ; P. O. Covington ; born in Newton Township Jan. 4, 1819 ; is the son of Jacob Ullery, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1772, and in 1810 came from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati on a flat-boat, bringing his family and effects; coming north through the wilderness, he located in Montgomery Co., near Harris- burg, and entered land ; the next fall he sold out, came to this county and pur- chased land where West Covington now stands ; after putting out a crop he erected a saw-mill, about the year 1812; his lumber was obtained in Darke Co., then

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rafted down to the falls ; to his mill he soon added probably the first corn-cracker in the township; the Indians soon became troublesome, and Mr. Ullery, for safety, removed to Lost Creek, and here followed milling two years, then returned to his old farm, which he sold, and bought another where part of Covington now stands ; here he died, in 1847, aged 75 years. He was twice married ; his first wife was Miss Wareham, of Pennsylvania ; and his second was Elizabeth Fager, of Bedford Co., Penn. ; he had four children by his first wife, and ten by the last union ; his second wife died in 1861, aged 74. Of the above children, James is U. S. Marshal of the Southern District of Ohio ; H. G. was raised on the farm, obtaining a limited education. Upon his marriage, he located north of Covington; in 1859, sold out and purchased his present place ; he is now minister of the Congregational Breth- ren Church of Pleasant Hill; personally, he is a man of sterling qualities, generous and upright with the world, pleasant and affable in his social relations. In 1842, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Eller, who died of cholera in 1832 ; of their ten children, eight now survive ; of the deceased, Ann M. was found dead in & spring near the house, in 1862, being then 16 years of age ; the other died in infancy.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 115

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